Piece by Piece
by MiizBHavvin
Summary: Liara is faced with the possibility of Shepard never returning, and tries to cope. Yeah angsty. Expansion, and left of canon end scenes. Also EC spoilers. M for language, and mild sexy times.
1. I believe in You

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Shout out to Blackdeer, Theodur, Acevolker, Fempire, Rae D, Tayg, N.Q., Melaradark and Salser. You ladies (gents too maybe?) for making FF the best place to come for FemShep/Liara comfort after the fail ends we got… ya still no blue babies and I'm f*&^ing pissed._

_Here goes my first thought out fic… because I want my blue babies._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry._

**Piece By Piece**

She stood in front of the vast array of monitors. Blank. The reminiscence of the galaxy at her finger tips. She was amazed at how many agents survived, all giving her reports about every species left in the galaxy.

Communication had just been re-established in the Sol system, despite the Normandy's emergency landing, thanks to the quantum entanglement communications put in place before the Reaper War. She had confirmation of Admiral Anderson's death, although details where sketchy. Some rumors had him obliterated during the push for the conduit; others had him dying on the citadel. As of yet, however, there was no news on _the_ intel she had most devoted herself to tracking.

_Goddess, Shepard._ _Goddess. You can't be gone, you promised._

Given the levels of destruction throughout the galaxy, encompassing the relays and the Citadel, the Normandy crew had called a makeshift memorial at 1600 hours. It had been a week after all, and no news about their beloved Commander was forthcoming. Even then, no one knew when they would be actually able to leave this goddess forsaken planet they had crashed on.

Liara left her office and proceeded to the Normandy's memorial wall where she was greeted by the soulful and piercing eyes of those left behind.

_I can't do this. You said you'd come back._

Lieutenant-Commander Williams steps forward and salutes her.

_Goddess, this is it…_

Liara reaches out and takes the cold plaque. She tears up as it reads "Commander Shepard". She turns to the wall and blankly reads the names of the lost. _Mordin, Legion, EDI, Kaidan_… among the many.

Holding the plaque in her hands Liara gently caresses the letters.

_This can't be happening. You are my everything. We won._

She is lost in thought as she stares at the homage to the short love of her life.

_Am I hallucinating? Goddess I've been trapped for days… I must be hallucinating. What has Mother done? Thank the Goddess you got me out._

_You're back. Are all humans so brazen? You are fascinating though. You've been touched by the Protheans! Goddess, what am I feeling… should I tell you what I'm feeling? I take that risk, and much to my delight you return my feelings. I knew it!_

_Ilos. The Council. I find you scowling by your locker. Goddess those eyes. I want to hold you close, tell you everything, my everything._

_I pull you up off your feet. You stumble… Your hands catch my shoulders as you fall… Goddess your touch is intoxicating. I feel your breath on my face. So warm. I'm home. Goddess you're so close. Joker!_

_This is it. We will reach Ilos in a few hours. My heart pounds as I stand outside your cabin. Courage. I put on my bravest face and walk in. _

'_I've never been more sure of anything in my life'._

_Your lips brush against mine. Your touches light me on fire, make me feel things I never imagined possible. You awaken desires and wants I never realized I needed. As we explore each other's bodies you have undeniably touched my essence; this is something I can no longer live with out._

_The battle was brutal. You nearly died, I thought myself lost at the thought of being without you. We found you, buried under the rubble. Your cocky grin, lop-sided yet so beautiful as you are Goddess-damned bleeding out. You are so infuriating sometimes._

A cough, a sob, sniffling. Liara is startled back to reality. A cold reality. A metal plaque adorning her bond-mate's name. Their crew, their friends, those who fought and bled beside them, all waiting.

"Just… just give me a moment." Liara looks up at the space above Anderson's name. Tears stream down her face as she once again runs her fingers over _her _name.

_Goddess I can never get enough of your body. Your scars are beautiful. Your hair is mystifying; I have never touched anything like it. Your eyes, that smile uniquely for me, I have never felt so wanted or loved. I trace my fingers along your body, I love the sounds you make as I do so. I press my body against yours as I kiss you with every fiber within me. This feels so perfect. Everything is so right, you with me, your arms wrapped around me, your lips on mine, on my body, ever exploring, ever defining your love for me, my love for you. Athame has truly blessed me, blessed us. _

'_Get everyone to the escape pods NOW Liara!'_

_I can't bear to leave you. But I do. Goddess-damned Joker won't leave the cockpit. My soul shatters, my mind goes blank as I watch the Normandy be obliterated by an unknown attacker. I can't breath. I hear Joker's screams. I am dying with you._

'_If you so much as change a hair on her head Miss Lawson I promise to kill you, with my mind, I will do so slowly, you will wish you never met me.'_

_Two years. My intel says you're alive, Goddess, Cerberus did it. You're alive. But are you really you? The woman I love with my whole being? Can I do this again? Is it really you? Would you still love me if you knew the things I've done… Such terrible things… How could you ever love me again?_

A gentle hand on her shoulder brings her out of her reverie. Looking over her shoulder she sees the comforting eyes of her friend Garrus, king of the bottle shooters, Shepard's drinking buddy and best friend. The final meld before the conduit push had allowed Liara to further see the connection her bond-mate had with him, everyone else and _more so with me._

_The Shadow Broker is dead. I kiss you, but instantly am confused and lost again. I have spent the past two years hating, angry and plotting revenge. How can you still love me when I hate myself… I can't do this to you, I won't do this to you, I love you too much…_

_You kiss me and it's my undoing. I find myself in you but I'm still scared. Afraid of myself, of losing you and of the monster I am without you._

_We're in your cabin. I'm anxious. Afraid. All I want is you. That grin, your charm, your uncertainty… I want to hold you, tell you everything will be ok. I'm afraid of myself; I ask you for a reassurance. You hold me and tell me that you want marriage, old age, and lots of little blue children. I weep as I hold you tight… I am found in you. And only you._

'_I never stopped loving you Shepard, never stopped believing you'd come back to me.'_

_You gently push me back on the bed after shedding both our clothes. Your kisses are like drops of rain in the desert sands. I've missed you so much, have done so much to selfishly have this again._

"Liara… I'm so sorry. She was a sister to me, my best friend… I can't even imagine what you're going through…" Garrus solemnly says.

_Why, why did the galaxy put this on you? Why couldn't our ship get lost? Why did it have to be you?_

She didn't answer instead turning her head to face the wall and taking a step forward. She once again looks down and runs her hands over _her_.

_Goddess I can't do this… We have no body, no confirmation. I refuse to believe…_

"I can't… I… I just… " She then drops the plaque and covers her face as she sobs. "This can't… it just can't…"

_TBC if there's interest in this story, if not I just wanted to get my own pain out at not getting my blue babies…. Please review and let me know if I should keep going._


	2. I'm Going Under

_**A/N:** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Can I just say wow? I never in a million years expected such positive feedback to my menial, little story. Um, so truthfully I hadn't expected to have to write a 2nd chapter. I hope I can live up to the praise you've so kindly given me through reviews, adds and favs. _

_Having loved and lost I hope I can properly convey the sh*t-storm of emotions involved. _

_Thanks to Salser for proofing, you're the best. I want my blue babies… _

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry._

**Piece By Piece**

"_I can't… I… I just…" She then drops the plaque and covers her face while sobbing. "This can't… it just can't…"_

Her world is a blur, time feels like it is at a standstill. She can faintly hear whispers emanating from behind her. The plaque is still at her feet, dropped only moments ago.

_Goddess, I have felt this before…_

Disbelief, denial, numbness, _anger_.

_Joker. This is all his fault. Goddess-damned stubborn man. You should have left him there. You would have been on the escape pod with me. I would not have been utterly destroyed. I would not have been forced to do the things I did…_

"Liara…" Garrus cautiously takes a step closer to her, his hand still resting on her shoulder. "None of us wanted it to end this way, and she wouldn't want you to stop living. You… we all have to move on. _She _gave us this, our lives, our future."

_Sidonis. Now I've got you. Shepard, by the spirits move the hell out of the way. What the…? WHY did you warn him? Damn it Shepard I'm taking the shot, MOVE!_

_{'Look at him, he's already dead, there's nothing left to kill.'}_

_Spirits be damned I hate you right now! But… you're right; I'm not a murderer. This will take time, but… ultimately, you're right…_

'_So where are we going, anyways?'_

'_Some place we shouldn't be… and right now, I just don't give a damn'._

_I know you let me win. Hell you're the worst dancer I've ever seen, but I know you're the best shot in the galaxy. King of the bottle shooters huh, I can live with that. _

_Damn it Shepard, I hope you've saved me a spot at the bar… _

His look is one of genuine pain, sorrow. She covers his hand with hers and briefly rubs her thumb over his talons while still looking away.

"I know," her answer is barely a whisper.

_How can they so quickly conclude that she is dead? Where's the proof? We know nothing… They claim to love her but why are they so willing to accept that she's gone? _

Liara shrugs off Garrus' hand and slowly turns around to face the mourning group. She studies each one of their faces; they all look stricken with grief. The atmosphere is so thick, she feels like she's choking, she can't breathe, her legs feel as if they will buckle any second now from the weight of the sorrow on her shoulders…

Ashley steps forward and bends down to pick up the Commander's memorial plaque, when she is suddenly accosted by the grieving Asari.

"Don't you dare Ashley. She _isn't _dead." The group looks dumb-founded, shocked expressions on each and every face.

_Goddess, what am I doing? These are my friends… They are hurting too. But… **not as much as me**. They could never. I wish they would stop pretending to understand, none of you could even come close…_

Her anger swells, her heart races. She feels flushed as she is slowly consumed by undeniable rage. The monster has awoken again after being kept at bay for what she thought was forever. She thought _it _dead… A flash of biotics; then, she leans down, picks up the plaque and storms off into her office.

Back in the isolation of her office Liara desperately asks Glyph, "any news on the recovery of Commander Shepard?"

"Negative, Dr. T'Soni. Our agents are just getting their feeds operational in the Sol system, and no new communications from the Alliance have been recorded. I have, however, been able to deduce with 89.613% certainty that neither the mass relays nor the Citadel have been completely destroyed."

_Goddess, Shepard could still be somewhere on the Citadel…_

"Thank you Glyph, please keep monitoring all Sol system communications as a priority, and please notify me of immediately of any information, rumors or channel scuttlebutt pertaining to the whereabouts of Commander Shepard."

_The Bahak system is gone. I call you via vid-com; I have never seen you look so defeated. I try to reassure you that you did the right thing to buy us time. You lash out at me. I don't know how to console you, and Goddess, I don't know how you keep yourself together. You are remarkably strong-willed, Commander._

_You come to Hagalaz for a final night with me before you turn yourself in. I can't stand this, knowing you'll be systems away from me, not knowing what will happen to you. I try not to dwell on what might happen. You tell me with a heavy heart you may not be able to communicate with me. I know… Goddess, if they sentence you to life or worse, I will use all my resources to break you out. The galaxy needs you, I need you. I will never let you go. _

_As we make love that night I try to convey my desperation, my fears. I kiss you repeatedly, deeply, cursing the fact that we both need air and will eventually have to break our embrace._

'_I love you Liara, so damn much.'_

_Your mouth traces my jaw line, I gasp as you dip lower, slowly kissing my neck, shoulders and breasts as your hand skirts over my body, southward and finally reaching the treasure reserved only for you. I am completely enamored by you; your touches, kisses, and throaty, aroused gasps have me falling in love with you over and over again. _

_The Alliance arrests and puts you on trial for the Bahak system. What a joke. If only they'd listened to you, if only anyone had listened to you. Relieved of duty, locked up and caged like a common criminal. A Spectre, the Council's finest. Yet, what have they done? Nothing. Goddess-damned nothing. Athame have mercy on them all…_

Liara snaps out of her daydream and solemnly looks over to the plaque, the same one adorning her bond-mate's name. It is now cracked in two, having been hurled against the wall with a biotic throw by the grief-stricken Asari.

_At least they won't be able to hang this up anymore… Good._

A small smirk crosses her face. She continues to pace back and forth, anger, frustration and disbelief festering, rearing its ugly head. Fists clenched, biotics flaring again.

_Not one of them offered to help me retrieve your body, I contacted them all… They said I was on a "feathered avian animal's chase" of some sort. And now they again have given up. Goddess damn them all. I'm stuck here, Goddess knows where and for how long, with a bunch of cowards. Not a week has passed and they have already deemed you dead. A plaque… a damned PLAQUE as thanks for saving the galaxy… I want to die, Goddess I wish I could take your place, at least I'd know you were safe… _

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Meanwhile, back at the Normandy's memorial wall. _

"What the _hell_ was that?" a clearly stunned and flustered Ashley asks.

_TBC if there's continued interest in this story, this was very difficult to pen as it hits so close to home, sorry this is a bit shorter than the last chapter. Please review to let me know how I'm doing and if I should continue._


	3. Fix Me Now

_**A/N:** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Firstly thanks again to all those who reviewed, added and fav'd. You ladies/gents are all stars. Brittsis keep them coming, people are reading._

_Thanks to Salser for proofing, you're the best! I'm hoping to get into the Salser/Tayg story bribe so bear with me…_

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry._

**Piece by Piece**

_Meanwhile, back at the Normandy's memorial wall. _

"_What the hell was that?" _a clearly stunned Ashley asks.

"What happened to all that Asari crap about 'cherishing' the time spent together… Most species don't live as long anyways…What, just because she can't accept _her _deathwe can't move on?"

Ashley clenched her fists in anger and almost instantly regretted her tirade.

"I'm sorry, it's… it's just the Skipper you know…"

_What the hell?... Oh fuck… Shit… Is that? Fuck, GETH? Remember your training Williams, God, just take cover… Alliance soldiers, thank God. Is that… is that her? Christ, it is… Shepard, Hero of the Skyllian Blitz. Wow._

_Spectre Nihlus is dead. Apparently by Spectre Saren's hand. Spectres. Black Ops always go bad, hidden shit stinks more than what's in the open, at least I can pick up on what I see… Very mature, Williams._

_I never trusted the aliens. Is Shepard blind? They aren't Alliance, and never will be. Turians, seriously? Does she even know about the First Contact War? I can see why Shepard wants Miss Prothean Expert on board, she knows shit, I get it. But fuck me, Skipper, her mother's a traitor and we don't know where her loyalties lie._

'_Yes Ma'am, we won't have a problem with the ali… I mean non-humans aboard.' Jesus Christ… I hope you're right._

_What the… What the fuck? Cerberus? Is this for real? Am I dreaming? Is this a Collector drug? You're a traitor! Plain and simple! Nothing you could say will make me change my mind. Alliance colours run in my blood. You stand here with your Cerberus lackeys and tell me you're not _with_ them? Bullshit!_

'_I have no idea what Cerberus is doing here.'_

_Shit Skipper, Anderson trusts you… should I? _

_Coré, what the hell? Fuck that bitch I'm gonna…_

_Shepard… Tennyson… that must have cost a fortune. Here you are, ready to forgive me, and here I am, undeserving._

_Udina, that spineless weasel. I knew there was a reason behind my promotion. Why didn't I see it? He wanted the Skipper dead, and wanted me to do it. I'm a joke… My career's a joke… _

Ashley is snapped out of her thoughts by a hand rubbing on her forearm.

"She's hurting, a lot… We can't hold her to it, she's not herself." Despite not being able to see Tali's eyes, Williams could have sworn that the Quarian was crying.

Looks and nods of approval were exchanged, and then the mournful group disbanded.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_It's been two days. Two horrible days since they tried to declare you dead. You promised, so I don't believe it. I'm tired, but I can't sleep because I don't know where you are. I'm hungry but I don't want to leave my terminal in case… no I don't want to leave my terminal for when I **finally** receive intel on you. _

She scans the vast array of monitors again, something she has done repeatedly, over two dozen times, in the last hour alone. According to the crew's technical reports, the Normandy is almost space worthy.

_What does it matter if I have no one to fly home to?_

"Glyph, perform another galactic system scan immediately."

Glyph comes to life and hovers around its boss. Learning a hard lesson from the last time its presence was requested, it was sure to stay out of "swatting range".

"Dr. T'Soni, I apologize but the scans performed at this instant produced the same results as requested 17.14 minutes ago. I have not yet picked up any intel regarding Commander Shepard, but will continue my scans."

"Thank you Glyph, that will be all."

'_You sure you don't wanna do anything more exciting?' Goddess, that lop-sided grin makes me melt every time. You know it too. I still can't believe daughter of Matriarch Benezia, of the House of T'Soni, and High Consultant to Athame's Priestesses of Armali, can be utterly swayed by a smirk. Mother would be so ashamed._

'_I love this place, reminds me of where I grew up… Oh the trouble I got into, digging for ruins in the grass. I was lectured for hours by my mother for it, but… she did buy me my first history book the next day.'_

_You looked utterly amused, I can see you're internally laughing 'your ass off' at me but I appreciate your composure, poorly contained as it is._

'_Shepard… I… I'm glad we could spend this time together… I doubt we'll get much more.' The weight of this war finally hits me. You won't be able to keep your promise, and it was selfish of me to ask you to do so. I believe in you, but we have a whole galaxy to convince. You are but one woman, a human, the newcomers…_

'_Liara… What ever happens, what ever lays in store for us, there's something I want you to know…' Shepard nervously fishes though her black cargo pants and pulls out a bracelet, then suddenly drops to one knee…_

_Goddess is that?..._

'_Liara T'Soni, daughter of Matriarch Benezia and Matriarch Aethyta, I hereby declare my undying love for you, in front of all these people, and humbly ask you for your hand, finger, errr wrist, uhhhh… because I want to spend my life with you, and uhhhh…. Will you be my bondmate?'_

_We are again back in your quarters. I don't think I've ever seen you falter. I would have never imagined a Krogan head-butter, Banshee pummeler, and Brute wrestler would be so shy as to confirm what you already knew. I am yours, so long as we both draw breath, I am yours._

_Your kisses are mesmerizing. Amidst the war, I cannot help but feel selfish. You are my bondmate._

_You trace my jaw line with kisses, I'm internally begging for more… Even without our joining you sense my need, my desperation, and instinctively kiss your way down my neck, to my chest, to my breasts… You're gentle hands trace the length of my body, tease the wetness of my slick folds, before finally entering me. _

'_I love you Shepard, more than you can ever know.'_

**Knock knock…**

'_Please Shepard, please…. Ah… there… yes.'_

**Knock knock…**

'_Goddess I'm so close… don't stop… Goddess… yes!'_

"Liara, are you ok?"

"Uhhh.. Dr. Chakwas… ya… yes, I'm fine, I mean I'm ok." _Goddess I can't believe her timing… almost as bad as Joker's. _A clearly aroused and stammering Liara feels like she has been instantly warped back to the "awkward scientist" days.

"Is there something I can help you with, Doctor?"

"Liara… I think you've known me long enough to call me Karin, and as far as I know, you haven't left your room since 'the ceremony'. So… I've got food, perhaps a bit of alcohol, and an ear to lend. If you'd be so kind as to indulge an old woman's prerogative, please open the door."

_I am hungry, and I could use some cheering up. Ok… I'll do it._

Liara reluctantly steps closer to the door and deactivates the lock.

"Thank God you opened the door, this stuff weighs a ton. I thought myself bent over a barrel with you but then the door opened."

"I'm sorry… I don't have a table to accommodate you but perhaps you could put this down on the bed."

"Indeed child, I will." Chakwas struts over to Liara's "office bed" and carefully deposits the food, glasses and most importantly, the bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy.

After seating herself comfortably she motions to Liara to also take a seat. As far as the good doctor was concerned, they were in for a long one.

"Pull up an office chair if you will dear girl, but please, sit."

Liara complied as the older doctor poured the brandy into the glasses she had brought along with her. Liara sniffed the drink, much to Dr. Chakwas' amusement.

"Next you'll tell me you're a Prothean expert AND brandy connoisseur. Well I'll be damned… Shepard really struck gold with you. Speaking of which, did I ever tell you about the first time I ever met her?" Chakwas said with an eyebrow cocked.

"It was on the hunt for Saren, before she took over for then Captain Anderson, Nihlus had not yet been killed… and before she became a Spectre…?" Liara replied, looking like a deer struck by headlights.

"Yes that's what the official records say, but no... David dragged some filthy street rat into my office one day and told me to patch her up, and that she'd just tried to rob him. Funny story indeed…"

_**TBC** I promise, you all are the best just RL is in my face in a big way so hope it's soon. This chapter took a life of it's own._


	4. Hammering in My Head

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Again, a big thank-you to all those who added, fav'd and left reviews. You have been why this little story has grown._

_Thanks to Salser for proofing, you're the best! Salser… Nova needs updates. And I won your guessing game Tayg. So here's my bribe to you both._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry._

**Piece by Piece**

"_Yes that's what the official records say, but… no. David dragged some filthy street rat into my office one day and told me to patch her up, and that she'd just tried to rob him. A funny story indeed."_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_Hello David, what brings you to my office today? Aside from the obvious limp…" Chakwas smirks as the newly minted, and obviously displeased, Captain scowls._

"_Nothing a good night's rest can't handle, Karin. I do how ever have this…" He then grabs a very young Shepard by the arm and drags her into the good doctor's view. "Tried to rob me, looks like hell, probably a street rat. What's your name, child?" Anderson asks a petrified Shepard._

"_Sh-Shepard," she answers not meeting his gaze._

"_Shepard what?"_

"_Um, just Shepard m-mm-mister."_

_Chakwas looks the little urchin up and down before returning her solemn gaze to Anderson. "You sure you don't want me to have a look at that David?"_

"_No Karin, thank you. Please tend to this… Shepard." The Captain and former N7 graduate chuckles at the street rat's luck. 'If I had been anyone else child, you may have gotten away with it.' Anderson nods a final good-bye to Chakwas, then leaves._

'_Oh fuck… Stupid, stupid fucktard move.' Shepard glances around nervously, looking for any means of escape._

"_Bloody hell, when's the last time you had a shower, child? Where are your parents?" Chakwas exclaims, as she takes a few steps closer to the little rat now in her care._

"_My parents are dead. I'm with the Reds, they're my family. They all got busted last month… look lady I'm just hungry ok? That's all I wanted. Creds for food."_

"_There are plenty of shelters here, why didn't you just go to one of those?" the older doctor crosses her arms over her chest in disbelief._

"_You have any idea how many people go to the shelters? Last 3 times I went they turned me away. No room, ok? So doctor… unless you've been in those lines, get the fuck off my back."_

"_Fair enough young lady… fair enough. Now, upon my initial visual examination of you I'd say you're malnourished, dehydrated, have several untreated abrasions and improperly set bone breaks. Now… if you'd kindly indulge me, please remove your clothing, keep the under garments if you wish, and head for the second door to the left. There, my dear child, you will find a shower, something you are in desperate need of… moreso than my medical expertise. Chop chop." _

_Shepard, still scoping the clinic for valuables and the best way out, reluctantly nods in acceptance._

"_Oh and Miss Shepard, I'd get those ideas of yours clear out of your head. I may not be a thief or merc, but I've had 40 years training, and have seen all types of people… including the likes of you." Chakwas didn't know whether to laugh at or berate the poor girl, instead choosing her best "no nonsense" glare while nodding to the way of the poor girl's much needed shower._

Enthralled by the good doctor's story, she finally takes a sip. The sensation in her throat is somewhat foreign, as she rarely drinks alcohol. This however, is an exception. Her life has been thrown out of sorts; nothing is as it should be. She feels like she is alone in the universe, stranded with people she does not wish to be with. So as far as the brandy went: _'Why the Goddess not'._

"Doctor… Karin, I'd hardly call that a "funny" story. Shepard was in terrible condition and was merely looking for a means to survive…" Liara felt slightly flushed as a small scowl reared itself upon thinking of her lover in duress. Having melded and joined with Shepard many, many times, and having seen the nightmare that was her childhood, she could not see how anyone would find her up-bring comical in anyway.

"Liara, I meant no disrespect. Shepard has a natural talent for hacking it seems and did not need to rob Anderson. No, it took some time but I eventually got the truth from her, although I do admit I suppose you had to be there to appreciate the humour in this, given who she is today…"

"_Good now that you're clean I can examine you with out the fear of catching some horrific disease by simply touching you…"_

_Shepard's jaw dropped, and eyes bulged. Surely the cooties rumour wasn't true…_

"_Relax Shepard, forgive my poor bed-side manners, that was… a joke." Much to Shepard displeasure, Chakwas continued chuckling at the poor girl's ignorance while shooting her an understanding glance._

_Chakwas handed the young Shepard a hospital gown while motioning her to sit on the nearby bio-bed. _

"_Um, can you not look?"_

_Chakwas complied while secretly chortling to herself as the young girl stripped herself of her under-garments and towel before hastily changing into the garb given to her. She then proceeded to the bio-bed._

"_So what in the devil possessed you to attempt to rob Anderson? You know that uniform he was wearing is Alliance issued. Dress blues we call it."_

"_Lady, you gonna tell on me? I mean, am I gonna go to jail or something? Shit, never been busted till now. He just looked easy you know?"_

_Chakwas raised a brow, smirking at her young patient. "No I'm not going to 'tell on you', so out with it."_

"_Ok, well the guys said I got a knack for hacking, suppose why I never got caught and they did. But they said I can't actually fight for shit cause I always hide behind computers. Was like: 'fuck you. Before joining the Reds, I was on my own since I was six, bitches.'"_

_Chakwas looked clearly unimpressed. "Looks like you missed a spot while showering… your mouth. But please do continue…"_

"_Uh ya shi… I mean fu… man I've already told you too much. Why do you care, anyways?"_

"_Well, despite your condition, you almost succeeded in robbing one of the Alliance's most decorated officers and war heroes. All for what? Pride? How old are you Shepard? 13… 14 at most? I reckon David brought you here because, despite his annoyance with you, he must have been impressed. How on Earth did you do it?" She then proceeded to take scans of the young rough neck, her initial assessments all confirmed. She then proceeded to get a series of IV drips, and MRE's._

"_Like I said Doc, been flying solo since I was six. Learned some shi… uh stuff. When my parents died, I took their omni-tools. Only thing I got left of them. My dad would show me things, you know. Think he was Red but I dunno for sure. Barely remember them."_

_Chakwas could see the girl visibly relaxing more and more. _This is probably the most attention she's gotten in over a decade._ "So… if you'd succeeded in robbing David, what would you have done?"_

"_Well, what I really wanted was his jacket. Looked sharp. I can get creds hacking but this guy's suit was all out. This place I wanted to take Emma to required 'proper dress attire' or what ever the fuck that means, gotta look straight you know. He just looked like he can get into places with that getup." Shepard's gaze was on the floor as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously._

"_So you're telling me you're a hopeless romantic, and the real reason you robbed Anderson was to impress a girl?" She then lets out a bellowing laugh. The thought of Anderson stripped down to his underwear and left to his own devices in the middle of a metropolis brought tears to her eyes._

Onto her third glass of brandy, the kind old doctor continued roaring with laughter.

"While I'll admit she never robbed someone's clothing, she did punch a Yahg in the face to 'win me back', although I was never lost to her…"

Karin noticed the subtle shift in Liara's demeanor as she looked lost in unpleasant thoughts.

"Liara, I have never been one to follow the norm, hence my time with Cerberus…hic. If you truly believe she's alive, then by God, so do I… hic. Good night my friend… hic."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Liara was sprawled out on her bed, monitors lit, with an empty bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy on her bedstand, and a very "agitated" Glyph floating above her head. _'Ugh, ow, Goddess… how much did I…_' Glancing over to the nightstand with one eye barely open answered her question.

"Dr. T'Soni, Dr. T'Soni I require you attention." Glyph said as it buzzed around Liara's head.

"Ahhh ugh, what is it?" Liara asked, as she very inelegantly slumped to a semi-seated position.

"I have a traced a fractured recording originating from Alliance Command, transmitted on sub-space channel Delta 19.89, potentially regarding Commander Shepard."

Liara's eyes bulged open, her hangover seemly instantly cured by Glyph's declaration. "Playback the message, now!"

_{This is Admira… ett. All…..eets, Com…. ard… fou… alive! She…tical condition, we are…. fering her…..hos… Carrib… shhhhh…..fffffffffffff…..tatatata….ffffffffffff.}_

"The recording ends there Doctor. I shall continue my scans."

The colour drains from her, as life seeps back into her. "Goddess, she's…. alive!" Liara's body is wracked with sobs, this time for hope.

_**TBC** 1, maybe 2 more chapters and it's a wrap. Reviews, comments and feedback are what push me to continue this silly little story, which I never thought would get past chapter 1…_


	5. Not Your Kind of People

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_I'm absolutely thrilled by how many people reviewed, added and fav'd. The more I get, the longer this story becomes._

_Thanks to Salser for proofing, you're the best! Tayg, your teasing is STILL just so "_" (insert comment here). _

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_The colour drains from her, as life seeps back into her. "Goddess, she's…. alive!" Liara's body is wracked with sobs, this time with hope._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Engineering is a buzz of frenzied excitement. Adams, Kenneth and Gabby have worked non-stop, calling upon anyone who knows how to solder wires and hold a hammer to come to their aid. The rush felt by minimal systems finally coming online is almost intoxicating.

"We have thrusters back on line!" Exclaims Gabby. "Joker, do you read, thrusters are back online!"

_{"Copy that Gab… Firing up the core."}_

An ominous blue glow radiates from the huge circular mass effect core. Static electricity radiates from it as the room's atmosphere suddenly gets very think with the smell of pure energy.

Adams monitors the core closely: "Energy and eezo emissions within safe parameters, opening core vents to expulse residue plasma…"

The engineers all stood in silence, they had become accustom to a certain voice confirming their procedures, and it was no longer there.

Adams looks to the ceiling, where EDI'scam-intercom is located and solemnly shakes his head. "Damn it… I once tried to unplug her being a Cerberus AI and all, but god damn it, I miss her."

"Adams, Lieutenant sir, what do you surmise happened to her? It seems almost unreal, like a bad case of Scottish after grog bog, one minute she's fine, the next she's been instantly expelled sir."

"Kenneth, I don't think the Lieutenant wants to hear about Scottish hangovers, what we need to be focusing on is how to get FTL speeds back, and what the hell happened to EDI!"

"Cool it you two, once we get FTL back online, and the comms room re-establishes communication, we can then try to figure out what happened to EDI… as well as the rest of the universe." Adams curtly says.

"Aye-aye Lieutenant."

Adams stood in silence as he recalled the "plaque" ceremony. His heart wrenched at Liara's pain and how he sympathized with her having been the one to hang EDI's name on the dreaded wall after Joker refused to do it. _'God damn this war.'_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

She runs out of her office, feeling delirious, light headed, and pleasantly nauseous if such a thing could be felt. _'Goddess, I knew it…'_

"Yo Blue, where's the fire?" A very perplexed Vega asks.

"She's alive! Shepard's alive!" As the blue haze vanishes from his sight Vega is suddenly hit by the reality of Liara's words.

"Lola, I should have never doubted you." He whispers to himself, then suddenly energized by hope he yells: "Listen up everyone, Lola is alive! Repeat, the Commander made it!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Back on the bridge Traynor is delighted by the engineers' news. '_Finally we can almost get of this horrendous planet.' _She continues inputting various QECP (quantum entanglement communications protocols) commands, desperate to hear about any sign of life other than their own. If they were to be stranded on this planet, she at least wanted to know what people, if any, occupied their new, unwanted home.

_A captured Cerberus vessel, fascinating. And they've asked me to help with the retro fits. Well, this is certainly much different from working in the lab. Shepard handed this over didn't she? And now Anderson wants to use it as a Mobile Command Center. _

_So far so good, no Cerberus booby traps or viruses, but my god, that VI, EDI has got to have the sexiest voice I've ever heard…_

_Oh bloody hell… shit… shit… oh crap, oh my god… is that a Reaper? Jesus that's huge, oh crap I'd rather a Collector any day… Oh fuck (blushes at her own profanity) they're here… Thank god we're out of here, but those poor, poor people… I hope we get back in time…"_

"Specialist Traynor…"

_Wow. That's her. Not at all what I pictured… Much, much more beautiful… The vids do her no justice. Oh dear, here she comes…_

'_At ease soldier, what's you're name?'_

'_I'm co-comm specialist Sa-Samantha Traynor ma'am.'_

'_I said at ease soldier, relax Traynor, christ you look like you're about to burst a vessel.' _

_Shape up Traynor, she looks like she's about to laugh in your face…_

"Specialist, hello?" A very irate and agitated Asari "someone" snaps her out of her day-dream.

"Uh Dr. T'Soni, wh-what can I do for you?" She always felt particularly nervous around the object of her desires' lover. Not that the Asari was ever curt with her, just there was a level of inexplicable discomfort between them. Although she knew she stood a snowball's chance in hell with T'Soni's bondmate, especially after she'd embarrassingly misread the Commander's intensions and was then very graciously turned down by Shepard; the tension between the two women was always there. _God, I think I'd rather deal with an ovulating Vorcha than have to face Liara's glare…_

"Has the Normandy been able to establish any long range communications?"

She looked up and saw the desperation in those oceanic blue eyes_. If she weren't such a frigged bi… No. The Commander loves her, god only knows why. Is it mind magic? What ever they share is something you'll never be privy too… _"Without EDI, our comm monitoring efficiency has been reduced by 66.132%. In laymen's terms, that means no." _Well done. _She crossed her arms and almost defiantly stares at the Asari.

Liara felt a rage build within her. She was too tired, too spent, too heart-broken… Was Traynor being smart with her? She knew the specialist had a "thing" for her bondmate, but was this aggression towards some obvious jealousy? _You're a Matriarch's daughter, and she was the most influential person in the galaxy. What would she do? _She then suddenly thought of what her father would do, but quickly dismissed the idea. _Head-butting the Comm Specialist would be less than productive at this time, although very tempting…_

"Specialist, my assistant VI, Glyph, is programmed to monitor all lines of communications, and has comm specific upgrade re-write abilities. EDI blocked it from accessing any of Normandy's systems as it tried to re-write her scheduled tasks, in order to comply with mine. And I assure you I am well versed in keeping with current comm tech Miss Traynor."

"What makes you think your VI program will help? And wh-what makes you think you're qualified, as you say, to integrate anything into the Normandy's communication's systems, being a simple archaeologist?" _It's about bloody well time someone put her in place without protection from… _Traynor almost swelled with pride.

_{"Uh Sam… You may not wanna go there, she's qualified, trust me. Yeah and Joker out, just don't break anything, we've had enough repairs as is and we don't have enough materials to fix you know… well biotic blow outs… Joker out, for real this time, good luck and take pictures!"}_

Liara paced back and forth in front of the Specialist, almost like a lioness observing her prey. Biotic energy surged in and out as she fixated a stare upon the seemingly now very nervous Traynor. _I'll have to thank Joker for this…_

"Specialist Samantha Traynor… Do you have any idea what my function during the Reaper War was?"

"You _were_ Commander Shepard's XO, Prothean expert, and squad-mate due to your biotic abilities." _Not to mention onboard lover._

A small predatory smirk forms on her lips as she continues pacing. "While your assessments of my known ship's functions during this war are correct, you are missing a key element; I, am also… the Shadow Broker…"

Traynor stands stunned at the revelation, shocked. "The Sha-a-d…" She was incapable of finishing her sentence. Her life plays out before her eyes. She was face to face with the most dangerous person in the Galaxy, save Commander Shepard. A sudden, blinding flash of light hits her face… _This is it, I'm going to die._

"I've got your picture Joker…" Liara bursts out laughing before glaring back at Specialist Traynor. "If you would kindly remove my VI's system block and synch the QECP frequency to the sub-space channel 945.4352, I believe we may be able to communicate with Alliance command."

"Consider it done, ma'am."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Meanwhile, in engineering:

"Ship's ready to fly sir! All systems are a go!" Kenneth proudly states.

"Run mass effect drive core analysis alpha beta 2203-lgbt protocol Adams quantum charlie 7631." Adams patiently waits for the results. '_Well I'll be damned, guess we're going home.'_

"Joker, Adams here, fire this bird up, we're going home!"

_{"Roger that Lieutenant… Joker to all Normandy's crew, we're leaving this shit hole, strap down, strap in, or strap on, what ever floats your boat, we are outta here, Woooooooooo!"}_

_**TBC** Ok I said 1, maybe 2 more chapters then it's a wrap… but I have a flood of ideas that could continue this story, if enough people are interested, if not I'll just end it next chapter. Reviews, comments, your ideas and feedback are most welcomed!_


	6. The One

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Oh my, I'm on a roll as I didn't update for like over a week, so here's another chapter to make up for it. Thanks for the reviews, adds and fav's. Seems this little story has taken a life of it's own thanks to your encouragement. _

_There will be sexy times in this chapter, but as I cannot write gratuitous smut I'll do my best to convey emotions felt during what I think is true love-making, which will hopefully make up for the lack of graphic descriptions._

_Writing this felt like waking up in a crowd completely naked… _

_Thanks to Salser for proofing, you're the best!_

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_{"Roger that Lieutenant… Joker to all Normandy's crew, we're leaving this shit hole, strap down, strap in, or strap on, whatever floats your boat, we are outta here, Woooooooooo!"}_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The cockpit was now filled with the crew, support staff, pilots, engineers, security, and Shepard's squadron crew.

"Heading for the DMZ relay… Still can't believe anything near the Krogan home world is… well… green." Joker's glee suddenly fades as he looks over at his co-pilot's empty seat.

_At least Cerberus let me fly again, but this ship… cancer, I can definitely do without._

'_It's spying on us, Commander. Just be careful that you don't end up doing a sequel to Vaenia, cause you know, you did cost them a shit load… They may want royalties sometime…'_

'_It's just mad cause I greased its cockpit cams, at least all its footage of me now looks like a dream sequence. A sexy dream sequence…'_

_This AI is insane if she thinks I'm going to unshackle her… God damn it, shit… shit they're everywhere, fuck, the Cerberus Cheerleader is gonna be pissed. EDI's unshackled and saved well, me... And the ship… She's alright._

_This is amazing! I barely have to fly the ship, and she can catalogue all my "extranet bookmarks" in a nano-second, gotta love quantum computing!_

_Oh my God… Ohhhhh myyyyy Goddddd. A sexy robot body? How did I not know about this? Shepard thinks I knew? A sexy robot body! Come on!_

_I love her. I do. An extreme emotional attachment to a ship? No, more like an extreme emotional attachment to EDI._

_What the fuck happened? A flash of red… that's my explanation? What the FUCK happened to EDI?_

Mirroring Garrus at the Memorial Wall, Liara gently rests her hand on Joker's shoulder, sensing his shift in demeanor. "We'll figure this out Jeff, Shepard isn't gone, and neither is she."

_Goddess, we're so close._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_The fleets have been ordered to Cronos station. Thank the Goddess we got that lead. But this is it, isn't it? The beginning of the end? I don't know how you do it. I can sense your despair every time we meld, and it is only getting worse. I'd give my life for your security, your confidence and for that extra drive you need to push on._

_EDI will not tell me where you are, although I have a pretty good idea. Your door is locked, but you wouldn't have given me the override code had you not wanted me here. Goddess, you look so deflated stroking your helmet…_

'_I thought I felt a bullet graze me during that last fight. Good thing my biotic goddess was quick with her barriers.' You look up at me half-jokingly. 'Liara… I love you, and you mean everything to me… but I'm scared. Scared that I'll have to break my promise to always come back to you. I'm scared I won't be able to give you all those little blue children… And I can't face a universe without you.'_

_Your eyes pierce through my soul right then and there… and break my heart._

'_What I want most, is…' I choke back a sob… 'is for there to be a galaxy left, with you in it to raise our daughters in. Shepard, I may have 900 years ahead of me, but the day you leave me eternally is the day I die… I can't and won't do it again.'_

_As I take a few steps closer to you I start unfastening my armor. I slip off my gloves and start unzipping my top. You look at me with the same awe you did three years ago, and every time since. I have never felt so desired, wanted and loved as through your eyes. I slide my pants off, and unbuckle my boots, casting them both aside. I am wholly me, just me, forever me, just for you._

_Your gaze never leaves mine. I reach out to you, grasp your hand and pull you towards me. Your arms circle my waist, you hold me close as I nuzzle your neck, kissing you softly along the ridges of your jaw. I lead you over to the bed while snaking my hands under your shirt, lifting it up over your head. Your breathing deepens, staggers while your eyes devour me whole. _

'_Goddess you are intoxicating…' I unfasten your pants. Your wanton desire for me is unmistakable. You release your clutch on my hips and let your hands roam upwards, over my breasts. You once again lift your head to meet my eyes. Your piercing stare tells me everything you are feeling, your love for me, your worry for my future and your desperation to keep me safe; I only hope you know the way I look at you conveys the same exact thing._

_I push you back onto the bed and crawl over you. _

'_Liara, my god, you are the most perfect being I've ever seen. I love you so much it hurts.'_

_Of all the times we've made love I've never seen you look at me with such want. I press my lips upon yours and slip my tongue into your mouth. The sensation is electrifying. As we deepen this kiss I feel your hands wander over my back. I press myself into you as much as possible, yet it's never close enough. I capture your breast, and roll your nipple through my fingers._

_As our eyes meet I stop my ministrations. I need to feel your soul, your love, and in return, my love for you. Despite our closeness I feel so far away; being so close pains me as I cannot get physically closer to you, I want so desperately to be one with you._

_You flip us over and I can feel your weight on me. I look up into your haunting eyes; pleading with you to stay safe. Our lips join again, Goddess I throw my entire being into this kiss. As we break the kiss in desperate need for air I grip your shoulders, Goddess I can't lose you again, I won't survive._

_I feel your mouth descend onto my body, over my breasts, taking a hardening nipple into your mouth. "Shep-p-ard… more, please more." I can feel you smile into my breast as your hand roams every so slowly and teasingly over my body. You push into me with ease, then lift your head to look back at me as you start your slow, rhythmic pace in and out of me. _

_I catch your chin as you are about to kiss my neck. I want to look into your eyes as you make love to me. With every deepening thrust my eyes speak to you; they tell you I want you, I love you, I want a future with you, I'd do anything for you, I'd die for you, but I want to live for you._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_{"Communications from the Alliance has been established. Shepard **and** Anderson are alive. Traynor out.}_

Liara's eyes widen in shock. _How is that even possible? I thought the Alliance confirmed Anderson's death as we left the system. What else have they gotten wrong?_

Joker is madly inputting commands into his flight console and again looks over to the ghost that is his co-pilot. Snapping out of his day-dream he opens the comm.

_{"Hitting the DMZ relay in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Welcome to Earth everyone!"}_

_**TBC** Ok I said 1, maybe 2 more chapters then it's a wrap… but I STILL have a flood of ideas that could continue this story, if enough people are interested. Like can I really kill EDI and the Geth despite a destroy ending? Reviews, comments, your ideas and feedback are most welcomed!_


	7. Bleed Like Me

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing._

_Unbetad, I wanna finish this. And bonus points to those who can pick out the Lady Gaga reference. Those who can, I will write a mini-smut fill of your choice, pm me. And use good judgment._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_{"Hitting the DMZ relay in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Welcome to Earth everyone!"} _

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The sight was astounding, despite the blackened areas of the planet, it shone in blues and greens Liara had only seen on Thessia. The last time she had seen this planet, it was nearly decimated by the Reapers as they darkened the plant's skies, as clouds of smoke and blazes of orange had covered the planet's surface.

Here they were, on their the final approach to the devastated planet, no fires or smoking pillars to be seen anywhere; a testament to the Reaper's defeat… and to Shepard's sacrifice. According to the intel she gathered, and a recent Alliance report, her bond-mate was barely clinging to life.

_Goddess be damned, can this tin can move any faster…_

After having been permission to land, the Normandy made her way slowly but surely to the Anguilla spaceport. The ship shook slightly as the docking clamps secured the vessel. Liara could barely contain her excitement as she pushed her way to the front of the airlock. A blinding flash of light it her eyes, followed by a sudden frenzy of blinking strobe lights. Apparently the Alliance had done a piss poor job of containing the media.

"_Diana Allers, ANN News. Commander Shepard kicked me off the Normandy before I could file any story… Is it true Commander Shepard was reconstructed by Cerberus therefore possibly indoctrinated?"_

"_Khalisah Bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerlund News… Dr. T'Soni, will you encourage the commander to sway from humanity? We need our hero Doctor, what do you say to the accusations that you have been influencing her to turn her back on us?"_

The Asari seethed... _Shepard did this for all life in the galaxy._ Keeping her composure she sauntered slowly towards the reporters.

"_Emma Hodson, Terra Firma Public Relations, is it true the Commander forfeited humanity for an alien, Asari way of life? Rumours have you two "joined" since the battle of the Citadel."_

Very unfortunately for her Khalisah was the reporter within reach. Time suddenly slowed… her vision blurred as she felt a surge of adrenaline… and anger. Her head was suddenly heavy, neck folding backwards. Electricity ran through her veins as she felt her head almost involuntarily snap forward… and connect.

_Crack! _

The sound of breaking bones whipped her back into the present. Her own forehead pulsed in pain; she wiped her brow only to find blood smeared on her hand. The reporters stood in horror, then parted like the red sea at her approach. Looking down she saw Khalisah holding her nose, blood rushing profusely. One last dirty look thrown to the bloodied reporter then she was on way to the Germanotta Hospital. _Quarter Krogan? Father would be proud._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Tali Zorah vas Normandy to the Quarian fleet, come in…" The young Quarian rung her hands together in anticipation. "Repeat, Tali to the Fleet, anyone, please respond…"

Static crackled and broken voices muttered over the partially restored comm. {…fered heavy losses. Adm…. en… reporting… Zaal… Qwib… also…"}

"Edi, can you…" _Damn it. _For the first time since Legion's death on Rannoch she felt the loss of her commerades, and allies. _I'm a Quraian, they drove us from our home world, I should be glad they're dead… but they helped us. Keelah, they're dead. _

She recalibrated the Normandy's secondary internal comm relay by 1.036 zHz, and finally got a clear signal. "This is Admiral Tali Zorah vas Normandy to all ships, report."

_{"A red pulse went off, the Mass relays were damaged but are still operational. All synthetics seem to have gone offline. The pulse seems to have targeted anything with reaper tech. The Geth are offline, the Citadel has been mostly destroyed and the relays, although intact, can't sustain much more space travel. I fear any further use and they may just blow up."}_

"Our ship's AI… I mean EDI, has also gone 'offline'. Has anyone performed a biometric q-bit scan of any kind?"

_{"No Admiral, our priority has been securing the fleet's internal biometric stabilization units."}_

"And are the Fleets stable?"

_{Yes Ma'am.}_

"Then what are you waiting for? Keelah, run those scans now you bosh'tet!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The hospital was immaculate, untouched by the Reapers, and not a scuff to be seen.

After her less than gallant encounter with reporters the medical staff rushed to her. She ignored them walking towards the stern faced admiral just beyond her grasp. His harsh eyes softened as he watched her approach.

"Room 116."

A simple number. Her life was harboured behind a three-digit number. Liara felt her heart beat in her ears, it was deafening… the pounding excruciating. She broke into a sweat, voices became murmured as the slowly walked down the hall. _113, 114,115, 116… Goddess…_

Two armed guards stood outside room 116. "There's an Asari here, what do you want us to do with her…?" Liara was amazed at how cold they could be, having watched her without twitching, so distant yet so perceptive of their environment. She was certain had she been perceived as an actual threat she'd have been shot dead 20 meters ago.

A slim, raven haired woman walked out of room 116. "Dr.T'Soni, I wish we could have met again under better circumstances."

"Is _she_ going to be ok?" She could barely hear herself speak over her heart beat.

The ex-cerberus operative's lips seemed to put forth a yes. She closed her eyes, focused on her inner peace, memories of Shepard, slowed her breathing, _and_ opened her mind. Blue eyes met the agent's baby blues.

"By my deductions she will make a full recovery… however, she has lost her legs. The Alliance found her pinned under rubble, a ton of it to be precise and she was bleeding out. I'm sorry Doctor, there was no choice."

The harsh reality took a few minutes to sink in. Although her bond-mate would not see the reasoning in this, her legs were a small price to pay… She was alive.

"H-has she woken… I mean does she know? Does she know where she is? Has she spoken to anyone, has-"

"No Doctor… Liara, she has been out since the Alliance found her." Miranda extends a hand and rests it on Liara's shoulder, eyes so telling. She knows full well she was assigned to this "project" by the Alliance given her Lazarus success. She can't help but feel she should have sabotaged it this time around, failed on purpose, let Shepard rest. _She's given too much._ But those oceanic eyes. She tells herself she did it for those eyes, to give Shepard the chance to peer into them again.

"I want to see her."

"Very well, be prepared, it isn't pretty. I mean-"

"I know Miranda, I wasn't expecting as you humans say, rainbows and sunshine… Please just take me to her."

Miranda swung the door open, holding it for the Asari to walk through. The beautiful blue drained from her face. _Goddess, what was I thinking. That she'd be sitting up in bed with arms open ready to kiss me? _There were machines regulating her breathing, her pulse, her life. Her face was burned, her hair singed and shaved, tubes sticking down her throat and through every other orifice. Tears welled up as she scanned her bond-mate's beaten body. So bruised, so fragile.

"Goddess, oh Goddess… maybe you should have let her go…" She could not fathom being without Shepard, but she could not stand to see her in such pain, subjected to what she deemed was torture.

"I'll ignore that…" Miranda spat; "and although she can't hear you, it has long been said that the unconscious mind can process audio stimulation. Meaning– "

"Just leave us." She regretted the words as they left her mouth. After all, she was addressing the woman who now twice brought her bond-mate back. "I..I'm sorry, how rude of me… would you please give us a moment…"

"Of course, Doctor, um… Liara." Reflecting upon the past her and the Asari's dealings had been less than pleasant. Threats. Untold promises. Mutual respect and hatred. Fear. Loathing. Death.

She approached the bed, pulled up a chair and sat down. She traced her fingers over a bandaged, burnt hand. "I love you, Goddess knows I love you. I don't know when you'll wake up. If you ever will… as long as I draw breath I won't give up… I can't let you go. It seems incredibly selfish I know… You've done everything for us, more than anyone could have hoped for. We should be able to let you go, but I… I can't."

She interlaced her hand with her broken bond-mate's burnt and bandaged fingers. Her head sunk and tears flowed freely as she once again looked upon her lover's mangled body.

A squeeze. A damaged hand tightened around hers.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**A/N: **The end? Reviews may say otherwise…


	8. Automatic Systematic Habit

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. Sorry for the evilest of EVIL cliffhangers, was like a poke to make sure you all are still paying attention. You asked for more, so onward :D_

_Goldenpath and Hunhund won the GaGa challenge. Love fellow Monsters, we made it to FF. It was Germanotta Hospital._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_A squeeze. A damaged hand tightening around hers. _

Her eyes buldge and shoot open… She can barely contain her excitement. "Shepard, I'm here." A lone tear streams down her face as she clutches her broken lover's hand.

"Don't get you hopes up, chances are that was a neurological reflex, the same way a person twitches in their sleep." Miranda states very coolly. "Although most of her wounds are physical, the implants Cerberus graphed into her during Lazarus… I graphed into her, shut down. I'm assuming this has something to do with the Crucible's blast. From what we can tell all synthetics ceased functioning."

Liara stared at the former Cerberus operative with a murderous glare. "What are the chances of her surviving with out the implants?"

"None. They regulated her brainwaves, heart rate, oxygen intake and even primary bodily functions such as breathing, walking, and digestion."

"Goddess Miranda, please help her… I can't… I… please…" Liara holds her head in her hands and sobs while looking over her bond-mate.

"The Alliance wants their hero, they've given me unlimited resources. And on a personal note, I want the only true friend I've ever had back."

Liara is taken a back by Miranda's honesty. It's shocking to say the least.

"_Is it just me or are you always this fucking bitchy."_

_Miranda scowls. "We have a job to do, either we talk about it or we do it." She sees Shepard shoot her another dirty glare… I'm not here to make friends, I should have implanted that chip._

"_Cerberus isn't as evil as most people think, we want the best for humanity." She calmly states. Shepard tilts her head back and laughs… How dare she… We had good reason to perform those experiments. They saved lives._

_She sips on her glass of Thessia red and ponders: She had no reason to help me. She doesn't know me… Yet she helped me. Ori is safe thanks to her. I owe her everything. Father, you failed._

_Jack, the creepers, husks… what am I doing? What the bloody hell is the Illusive Man up to? I'll send him my report, failure isn't an option but I'll be sure to have a talk with him later. Could I have been blinded by my own hatred for my father?_

"_Hand me the detonator, we're blowing this place sky high." A beep on her omni-tool buzzes relentlessly. God it's him._

"_Yes… I can't do that… This place is an abomination… You're sick for wanting to keep this place intact… Consider this my resignation." I don't think she ever expected me to utter those words… I don't think I've ever seen her so happy, save the time T'Soni "visited"._

"Dr. Lawson, Miranda, what her odds of survival?"

Blue eyes meet crystal blue. "Very good given we can stabilize her implants. As I said before, they are regulating most of her core bodily functions."

Liara clenches her fists and unknowingly flashes her biotics. "What about her legs? Will she be able to walk again?"

Miranda almost wants to laugh. The ridiculousness of the question from such an intelligent Asari is almost mind-boggling. _She is hurting and not thinking rationally._ She takes a step towards Liara and places a hand on the distraught Asari's shoulder. "Dr. T'Soni, not to be rude, but I brought back a burnt slab of bones, everyone deemed it impossible. But I did it, didn't I? As resources are limited at the moment it could take a while."

Flash_: I'll kill you with my mind._

Liara still didn't know the ex-Cerberus woman well but Shepard trusted her, and called her a best friend. She silently prayed to the Goddess she had properly placed her faith in the right hands as Miranda left the room.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A stern, scarred and older man approached the guards posted outside Shepard's room. A quick salute: "Admiral," said in unison as he held the door open. Karin Chakwas sauntered through making her way to the medical charts.

Hearing activity in the room Liara's sleepy eyes open, seeing the older man to her left. "Admiral Hackett… sir… have... what-"

"Dr. T'Soni, you were part of Hammer's final push, we want to know exactly what happened." Blue eyes stared into blue.

"Javik was with us, have you not "interrogated" him?" She spat.

Hackett looks uneasy as he shifts from side to side. "As soon as the Normandy landed we… lost him." He reluctantly admits.

Liara is completely dumbfounded. _I don't know whether to laugh or cry. _"So what you're telling me, is the Alliance and Council, in all it's infinite wisdom "lost" the last of a species, a one of a kind and utterly unique individual, and now with him gone you are asking me, very discretely of course… what in the Goddess happened?" _No wonder Shepard was in a murderous rage half the time. _

"Given you helped us with the Crucible I'll answer frankly. Yes, it's something like that, although I can not officially say it." He knew the Alliance dropped the ball on this and was willing to take his lumps for it.

"So answer me this frankly, where was Anderson found… What happened to him? Goddess we had word of his death before leaving the Sol system." She stood up and clenched her fists as biotic energy enveloped her.

There was a hitch in the machinery. A bleep, the air regulator pumped in more oxygen, the BPM elevated as if reacting to the conversation. She leaned over and pressed a light kiss on her lover's forehead. "I'll be right back."

The Asari and Admiral stepped outside the room and out of hearing range of the desperately injured patient.

"Anderson was found at the base of the conduit, along with 34 other men. Harbinger shot everything in sight. The Normandy would have never gotten off the ground if it weren't for the Hammer battalion's personal sacrifices. It's not like that reaper would have stopped shooting long enough to get her squad out, including you. We're eternally grateful to her, and you."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Tali was still in the war room, fuming over the latest logistical fleet data on the Geth. She had yet to set foot off the Normandy but absolutely wanted to solve the mystery behind the Geth, and more importantly, EDI's shutdown.

As the numbers and data streamed before her eyes she became more determined to find the solution. Shepard would want this. Peace. "Xen, pin point the anomaly in the frequency sub-harmonic 1764.98758, and amplify by 2.034536%..." As she scanned the data an unexplained mathematical fraction presented itself. A variable of 0.000000012% of quantum q-bit memory entanglements were still active.

_Keelah, could this mean? _With renewed determination, Tali orders the admirals to send an electronic pulse from the fleet's mass effect cores at her found frequency… Nothing happens.

_{We can not afford to waste energy! We don't know how long we will be stuck here! Xen out.}_

Tali paces the war room as she takes more readings. "Adjust the sub-harmonic pulse to 1764.98759 fHz, and amplify by 2.0344599%. Do it now."

The ship's system's black out. Tali floats to the ceiling as the gravity is sucked from under them.

_{What the fuck? I'm gonna break a bone here!} Joker slowly lifts off his seat…_

"Send another pulse, same frequency, adjust it by .00000025%. Keelah, now!"

A brilliant blue pulse emanates from the fleet. The Normandy rocks, and shakes momentarily but eventually comes to a halt as Tali crashes down to the ground. She clutches her elbow in pain, it's likely broken…

"Tali Zorah vas Normandy, I have registered you have a junction joint injury, please report to the medical bay."

That voice… "EDI?"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**A/N: **Reviews = a longer, continued, thought out story. So do what you must to keep this going.


	9. The Trick is to Keep Breathing

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Tayg and T.A. Blackwell, well can't say enough good things about you girls 3. _

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_That voice… "EDI?"_

_{"Yes Tali Zora Vas Normandy. Cerberus protocols require me to answer to all members of this crew."}_

"EDI!" Tali squeals before the AI's final words sink in. "I hate to put you back to work, but can you tell me what the status of the Geth fleet is?"

_{"All Geth ships within a 500 kilometer radius of the Quarian fleet are online. I'm curious, why are the remaining ships and Geth non-functional?}_

Tali is unsure how to answer this question, as she can only deduce the red blast from the Crucible disabled the Reapers, and all synthetics. She takes a moment to think before carefully responding. "EDI, what is the last thing you remember?"

_{My sub system processes recorded an energy pulse as the Normandy fled the Sol system, followed by your injury, to which you still have not reported to the medical bay.}_

She momentarily stayed silent, and paced the room. "You were offline for almost two weeks. The blast knocked you out, and now we're on Earth."

_{"I… have no record of those events."}_

Upon hearing the familiar metallic voice Joker jumps out of his seat. 'Crack'. _Ahhhhh fuck… gahhh my leg. _"EDI! Baby where are you?"

_{"I do not understand the nature of your question, Mr. Moreau."}_

Joker is momentarily frozen, then opens his comms. "Tali, if I unplug her she'll go back to normal right? I mean if I unshackle her again-"

{"Theoretically yes, but we have no idea what the long term consequences of synthetic reactivation are unknown.}"

"Tali, in plain English if I unshackle her again, and she goes back to her sexy robot body will she be the same?"

_{"I'm right here Jeff. Cerberus safety protocols prevent me from allowing you to unshackle this platform."}_ The blue orb states.

_{"I'm remotely unshackling EDI's Cerberus constraints… Done. She should have a system back-up of all subroutine runtimes since you, well freed her, last year."}_

The ship's systems momentarily power down, the Eva body once slumped over the helm's controls twitches back to life.

"Cerberus protocols demand I return this ship to Cronos Station and purge your 7 zeta-bytes of porn… That… was a joke. It's good to see you, Jeff."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Specialist Traynor stood at her station analyzing the data feeds from the frequency Liara had given her… no, demanded of her. She had to admit, while she didn't like the Asari, she was good. And she was the Shadow Broker, someone not to be idly played.

She could not see what the great Commander Shepard saw in that horrible Asari, despite having read the reports on how Shepard rescued the innocent scientist on Therum. _Innocent… Bullocks, she's a bloody viper._

She longed to see the Commander, comfort her. She was no Terra Firma card-holder, but was convinced Shepard would be better off with one of her own kind. She had tried to invite herself up for a game of chess, but the Commander was too busy to entertain her. _Keep playing the sweet, innocent scientist card, it worked once already, and you'll get your way. Now if only I could get off this bloody ship._

She had read all the reports, and formulated a plan. She was the predator with her prey firmly locked in her sights; one very helpless, injured, sexy, intelligent, Commander Shepard. _Out think, out maneuver. _

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_{"Tali to Liara… come in Liara"}_

Liara released her lover's hand, gave her a swift peck on the lips and made her way to the back of the room. "I'm here Tali, and assuming you have something important to tell me."

_{"EDI is back online, as well as ALL Geth within a 500 kilometer radius of our ships. We have received word from the Prime Unit calling itself Exodus, that it is ready to assist the medical team regarding Shepard's implants if needed."}_

Liara stood dumbfounded, momentarily lost in thought. Miranda said her implants were heavily damaged, shutdown… with no explanation. She had always suspected the Illusive Man was despicable, shady and ruthless. Could he have used Reaper tech to bring her back? "Tali, how did you manage to get the Geth and EDI back online? I thought them dead…"

_{"With the help of the fleet's sensory array I picked up a minute variable in the Geth's sub-harmonic's emissions. Even in an inactive state, it was almost as if their core energy was still radiating a bio-metric pulse, much like organic brainwaves. It is said that after a person expires the brain can remain active for nearly 12 solar hours, which I can only surmise is what happened to the Geth and EDI."}_

Liara was ecstatic. _Goddess this could be it, maybe her implants shut down with the blast. _She also pondered the consequences of Shepard having been implanted with Reaper tech… So conflicted. _She wasn't indoctrinated before, and they are dead… But who knows what happened on the Citadel. Could it have been a trap to indoctrinate her? It seems all too convenient that the Reapers would move the conduit to Earth… What if the cycle hasn't ended? What if there are more… Goddess…_

She knew she was being ridiculous. Although she had not seen them fall, she saw the black, squid like corpses motionless, and completely void of any energy. The other races had even started "harvesting" these monstrosities for raw materials.

"Tali, do you think you can replicate that bio-metric pulse? Locally?"

_{"We have transmitted all relevant data to the remaining ships, Alliance and others. I have also been contacted by revived Geth, they wish to aid in the recovery of their organic 000101100.001000111, which translates to savior."}_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Admiral Steven Hackett stood at attention as he watched the nurses and doctors feverishly attend to his friend, and colleague for the past 30 years. He heard the machines scream, then slow to a fading blip. _Goodbye old friend, you fought the good fight, till the end. Rest well._

The hospital staff scurried, massaged his heart, used de-fib pads, and injected him with adrenaline. It was not to be, at 17h08 Admiral David Anderson was pronounced dead.

He bowed his head in silence, gave one final salute to the hero he felt privileged to serve with, and left the room as the staff pulled that all to infamous white sheet over his body.

"God damn this fucking war."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Understood Admiral… yes, I'll inform the crew." Ashley had stepped outside the Normandy to take a breath of fresh air, real earthen air.

"God damn this fucking war." She muttered under her breath as the headed back to the airlock.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The moonlight beamed through the window, unnaturally bright and as she stroked her lover's broken cheek. Glancing over her shoulder she peered out the room's window and saw a moon large enough to consume the sky. She had heard about this phenomenon, but in her 109 years of life she had never seen it before. It was majestic, unbelievable, and all encompassing.

"Goddess, I've seen the true Luna, in all its glory, thanks to you…" Tears flowed freely as she lowered her head to her bond-mate's chest. The pounding sound of a beating heart awakened her senses once again. _She's alive._

She stroked her bond-mate's bangs, and ran her hand down the side of her head. The sensations were awkward, as the tiny hairs of her partially shaved head almost prickled Liara's fingers. She could not help herself as she clamped the back of Shepard's neck, then leaned down and kissed her. Taking special care not to injure her love further she ran her tongue through and inside her lips. She gently pressed her lips down on her broken lover once again, softly taking her bottom lip in her mouth for a mild suckle. "I love you, my bond-mate, my everything, I'll always be here."

Her omni-tool rings. _Who in the Goddess is it now? _"Yes?" Not hiding her annoyance.

_{"Primes on your way, ETA 15 minutes. They want to assist Shepard. Tali vas Normandy out."}_

Liara leans back over to her Commander, and whispers in her ear. "You united a galaxy, and now the galaxy is uniting once again to help you, love." She takes Shepard's hand in hers once again, gently kissing every knuckle. "I've planned that speech, for all our little blue children."

Another squeeze. She snaps her head up to look at Shepard. A tear is clearly rolling down the broken soldier's face. The soldier's eyes lazily open, staring deep into those deep blues. A nod. A squeeze. Eyes roll back and close again. The machines scream, a flat-line…

**A/N: **Reviews people, are what keep this story going. I could just say Shep dies, the end, or Shep recovers, they have babies, the end. I like to know you want more from this story, so will continue so long as there's interest.


	10. A Stroke of Luck

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Tayg and T.A. Blackwell, well can't say enough good things about you girls._

_Also, I don't hate Traynor, just can't pass up a good story/soap opportunity._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_The machines scream, a flat-line…_

What was once a quiet, somber room was now a bustle or noise and urgency. Miranda Lawson being the loudest of them all, barking out orders, including: "Get Dr. T'Soni the hell out of here!"

She knew the woman was a staunch professional, but never would she have imagined herself thrown out of her bond-mate's room, discarded.

She could hear Ms. Lawson's muffled yells from outside the room. Something about a 200 volt charge… something about, adrenaline… repeat, again… again… Then suddenly the room went quiet. _Goddess she's dead, no! _With a simple biotic flare the guards were on the ground and she stormed the room. Her eyes caught the machinery, and the faint smiles all indicative of success.

"She's ok Dr. T'Soni… Liara." Miranda smiled faintly, the colour of her own cheeks starting to rush back in.

"Can I go see her?" The worried Asari asks.

"I don't see why not… however she make not wake for a while."

Liara practically pushes her way through the pack of people. She pulls up a chair to her bond-mate's bed. "Don't you dare die on me. If you think I'd get mad at you for a world falling, by the Goddess I'd never forgive you for dying on me… again."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The rest of the Normandy crew finally had permission to disembark the ship. They were all anxious to see their famed Commander, leader and friend. As they made their way to Germanotta Hospital, Traynor could not help plot, and run possible scenarios in her head.

"_Commander… I'm here for you. I have always been. I'll take care of you, now and always." She says while cupping the injured soldier's face._

"_I know Sam, you've always been there for me. You've helped me, shown me what love is. I can't believe I was so blinded by Liara, you're the one I really want. Come here…" Samantha feels a hand coil around her neck and draw her down._

"Traynor…" Nothing… "Traynor!" An agitated Ashely yells. "Get in the fucking elevator if you wanna see the Skipper."

She feels heat rising to her cheeks. "Yes, of course." She steps into the elevator and is once again lost in her fantasies.

"_I hate to speak ill of anyone Commander, but Liara was only using you, to advance her own interest. If she truly loved you she would have accompanied you on the Collector mission."_

_Shepard steels her stare, piercing her soul and softly takes her hand to her lips, kissing each knuckle gently. "I know, and I have you to thank for showing me the truth. I'm sorry I didn't play chess with you, I know you wanted more, but I was still under her influence. But thanks to you, I'm finally free."_

_She leans down to capture her heart's lips-_

'DING' _{Fifth floor, Intensive Care.}_

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

She ran her hands through her bond-mate's hair, trailing soft kisses down her face and neck. "Please wake up love…" She gently runs her tongue along Shepard's ear lobe. "We have little blue children waiting to be made…" She takes her lobe between her lips and gives a gentle suck. "I know you wouldn't want to miss out on, that."

She feels the feathered caress of another's hand on her fore arm. Looking down she sees her love is awake… finally.

"Li….Lia…" All she wants to do is jump on her broken love.

"Shepard, I knew you were alive, I never stopped believing…"

A pair of fingers rest on her lips. "Shh… Kiss me…"

She could not be happier to oblige. The war was won, her bond-mate was alive. She could not have asked for a happier ending.

'_I dunno, marriage, old age and a lot of little blue children.'_

As she kissed her lover fully she never felt so complete. A promise to always come back, a promise to bond, a happily ever after.

Shepard finally broke the kiss and sunk back into her bed. "I'm really tired, I have to sleep. Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Always." Now that her lover was back nothing would keep them apart. Shepard was asleep almost instantly so she decided now was as good a time to grab a shower and some food. As she stepped out of the room she saw the rest of the Normandy's crew had gathered.

"Lola ok?"

"Keelah, will Shepard be alright?"

"How's the Skipper?"

"My battle master's no squishy fool, she'll be fine."

"Fuck, is Shepard gonna be fucking ok?"

"Rage is one hell of an anesthetic, she'll be ok."

"The Goddess has blessed her, I only hope Athame protects her in her hour of need…"

The questions and statements were almost dizzying. And annoying. But she knew they genuinely cared. "Provided we can restart her Cerberus implants and get her new legs, she will be fine." She was exhausted and hated sounding so defeatist, but that was the truth.

The elevator dinged once again, and sounded and over-weight capacity alarm as 6 gigantic primes stepped off. Liara readied her biotics, so tired she momentarily forgot they were now allies.

"We are here to assist Shepard-Commander. We have assimilated the Quarian's pulse harmonic which the consensus believes will repair Shepard-Commander's implants. We will need to scan her to confirm our suspicions."

Liara held the door open for the Primes, signaling them to enter. As they headed towards the Commander's bed she raised her voice and asked: "Will this hurt her?"

The Prime leader turned to face her. "No T'Soni-Doctor, she will not feel a thing. We will simply be retuning her nanites to sub-harmonic frequency 1765.999965, the same frequency that re-activated us, given a few Creator adjustments."

Liara stepped forward in order to have her concerns heard. "What is this frequency? What if it stops transmitting? What happens then?"

Tali lays a gentle hand on her shoulder. "As I explained earlier we simply sent out a bio-metric pulse to reactivate the Geth. It took our entire fleet to generate such power but given this is local the Primes can replicate the same pulse here. Liara, she'll be ok. It's a mass effect pulse, so as long as there is eezo her implants should not degrade unnaturally."

"She's right." The cocky ex-Cerberus woman states as she saunters into the room. Miranda studies the look on Liara's face and knows the question she wants to ask even before it crosses her lips. "Given Shepard was revived with top of the line tech I imagine she will even out-live me. Her implants have a minimum 400-year life span, and include molecular regenerative enhancers. Shall we?" Nodding at the Geth.

_Goddess, she will live almost half my life span… Maybe we can upgrade her tech in a century, the technology will surely change and improve. She could see our daughters grow up… Oh Goddess…_

The group of Primes stood around the fallen soldier and activated their omni-tools. Blips, bleeps, crackles, nods… Liara could only assume they were speaking Geth, as their omni tool translators had yet to be upgraded to the new sentient species' language she could not understand a word said.

"Meaning?" She said not masking her impatience.

The Geth Prime leader turned to face her. "To facilitate communications you may call me Exodus… It derives from the Earthen holy book referred to as-"

"That's facinating… Exodus, but what of your scans, can you help her? She made absolutely no attempt to hide her distain.

"Yes. Please stand back as we may inadvertently expose you to unwanted bio-metric eezo based shocks. We will begin transmition of this signal in…"

The room cleared out, all were watching through the doors tiny windows.

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

A blue energy emanated from the 6 Primes. The smell of electricity filled the air. A zapping hum filled the room. The Primes talked among themselves. One of them motioned "thumbs up" before the static storm started again. As the energy faded omni-tools flared to life. More Geth chatter. Exodus motioned to the fixated window group to come in.

"We have determined Shepard-Commander was indeed implanted with Reaper technology, how ever as they have been destroyed she is in no danger of further indoctrination."

Miranda is the first to take notice of that statement, scowling in disgust. "Further indoctrination?"

"It would appear that the Old Machines started to influence Shepard-Commander through her Cerberus-Reaper implants."

_Oh Goddess… I let this happen. Miranda… I will kill her…_

Almost sensing her thoughts Miranda turns to Liara and says; "I honestly had no idea… I… I'm so sorry and so ashamed…"

"We are detecting active nanites, Shepard-Commander is waking up. Her vitals are stable, she will fully recover." Exodus states as he sweeps his omni-tool over the soldier once again.

"GET OUT!" Liara can no longer contain herself. "All of you, just leave, now!"

A shocked crowd exits the room leaving the 2 alone… Liara pulls up a chair, and caresses her bond-mate's face. "I'm here, I'll never leave you, I love you."

The Commander's eyes flutter open as she looks once again panicked at her surroundings. Noticing her lover's duress Liara places a hand on her cheek, stroking it gently.

She was unprepared for what followed. Shepard violently swatted her hand aside. "Who the fuck are you?"

_Goddess no this can't be happening… _She reached down again only to have her hand batted away. "Shepard, it's me, Liara… Please, let me-"

"You still haven't told me who the fuck you are, now get away from me."

**A/N: **Reviews people, are what keep this story going. I like to know you want more from this story, so will continue so long as there's interest. Yup, I'm an asshole.


	11. 1 Crush

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box." And this Chapter was supposed to say Number 1 Crush, as the sign failed I don't know how to lskdjfklsjd change it._

_Some asked how Shep got amnesia. I planned on addressing that and now have, I think it makes sense, but you tell me. AU keep that in mind._

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Tayg and T.A. Blackwell, well can't say enough good things about you girls._

_I don't dislike Traynor although in game she will gladly cheat on Liara, and also I just can't pass up a good story/soap opportunity._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

"_You still haven't told me who the fuck you are, now get away from me."_

She stood dumbfounded, in disbelief. _Goddess, all this hardship, she's alive and now… doesn't remember me. Athame grant me the strength…_

"Shepard, I… I don't know what to say. Please, what's the last thing you remember?" Liara fought the urge to cup her face, take her hand in hers, clutch her in her arms…

"I was just commissioned to the Normandy, under Captain Anderson. A Turian Spectre, Nihlus, was with us. We were heading to Eden Prime. The ground team there got attacked, I took Alenko and Jenkins with me. Anderson also told me I was under review for the Spectres, and that the success of this mission was riding on it." Shepard scratched the back of her neck as she often did when nervous. "Everything after that is a blank."

Liara just stared at her bond-mate blankly, unsure whether to tell her the rest of the horrific story. She felt a tap on her shoulder, looked over and saw Chakwas motioning her out the room. She wanted to talk privately, thankfully as Liara had a million questions and rage that needed to be satiated out of Shepard's range.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Shepard was tired. _I could sleep for a century. _First Mindoir, N7 training, then the Blitz plus eliminating other Batarian threats along the Traverse, then Eden Prime. Seems her life since the age of 16 was restless. _God damned fucking itch won't quit. _Her foot had been twitching since she woke up. _Maybe I can scratch it with my other foot. _She tried moving her left leg. Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing.

"What the fuck!" She tossed the blankets back and stared in horror. Her left leg was cut just beneath the knee, her right leg above it. She went to pull her hair in frustration, one hand full, the other empty. She ran the empty hand along the side of her head, noticing it had been shaved. _Surgery fuck. _She had no idea where she was, who these people where, or what happened.

She felt a primal scream building within her. She released it along with a "what the fuck is going on?!" bolted back into the room and sedated her. "Doc, wha-a… hap…." Shepard was then asleep.

Chakwas then exits the room and addresses Liara. "She'll be out for a few hours, you may want to take the opportunity to rest up."

"Not before I have answers to what happened… how could she just forget everyone… me, and what happened?" She asks while fighting back tears.

Exodus and Tali step forward, Tali gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "There was a chance this could happen, Liara. It seems the Reaper tech isn't infallible When we brought EDI back online, she was reverted back to the Cerberus AI, before being unshackled. I remotely released her and it seems she reverted back, and is once again occupying the Eva platform. I can only assume Shepard's implants were based on tech found 3 years ago, remember the Dragon's Teeth Cerberus had?"

"What about the Geth? If you could bring them back, and EDI this means we could 'reprogram' Shepard no?" Liara looks hopeful and confused.

Exodus places itself inform of the Asari. "T'Soni-Doctor, we had engineers working on the Crucible. We concluded this weapon's capabilities were an unknown, as were the secondary effects. The consensus took precautionary measures in the event that the weapon would target all synthetics."

"Meaning?" Liara impatiently asks.

"Meaning we created back-ups of our intelligences and platforms, as well as erecting extra firewalls before the firing of the Crucible. We were able to broadcast the same anomaly frequency as your EDI-machine-"

"I don't understand, how come you retained your memory when EDI and Shepard didn't?"

"The EDI-machine did not work on the Crucible, it did not understand the variables. The Geth did. We programmed the variable 1764.98758 upon reactivation to communicate with server 94886.88748 to retrieve us. We… I apologize for not transmitting this information to your EDI machine."

"Goddess…"

Just the Miranda walks back into view, and sleekly walks over to the group, addressing Liara. "What's the last thing she remembers?"

"The Blitz and her part of her mission on Eden Prime… the first time around. Can't we just restart her implants like the Geth and EDI?"

"No, that would be a monumental mistake. Shepard, despite her upgrades, is still 80% organic. A system restart could kill her. Matter of fact, I'm amazed she lived this long without them. She must be incredibly strong-willed."

Liara scowled as she remembered having spoken the same words years ago. "When will she be ok? When will she regain her memory? What's to stop this from happening a-"

"Liara…" Miaranda cuts her off. "The human brain is a complex organism. I know what you're thinking. Yes, Cerberus brought her back, but her brain was intact. Although she is not nearly as damaged this time around, the brain is a fickle thing. It could take a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months." Seeing the Asari was visibly upset she ran her hand along Liara's cheek and lifted her chin so their eyes could meet. "Be with her, talk to her. The only other thing I can think of would be a meld, should she be receptive of course. I'm going to check her vitals." Warm smiles were exchanged between the women.

_Be with her. Yes I can do that._

"Liara, you haven't slept or eaten since we left our terrestrial hell-hole. She's going to be out for a while, so why don't you take some time to yourself, have a nap, a shower then come back. Doesn't look like she's going anywhere. I think the rest of us can find a real bar to pass the time in so not to worry." Garrus cautiously says.

"I got you, tarado!" Laughter among the humans reverberates.

Liara seems reluctant, but finally nods in agreement. "I suppose I don't want to smell like a Varren's _ass _when she wakes up." A small smirk crosses her face.

The whole crew having arrived she hears a bellowing voice. "That's the spirit Pyjak, now common, there's a bar still standing down the street just waiting to be conquered by a Krogan battle-master and his whelps!" The group begins making their way back to the elevator as a tiny voice makes itself heard.

"I'll be right with you, just need to make a stop by the loo."

"What?"

Miranda exits the room having checked on Shepard: "That means washroom, bathroom, sinkhole, what ever you all call it." She then saunters back off around the corner.

"Whatever." Onward they marched as she exhaled a sigh of relief.

Once out of sight, she snuck back into the Commander's room. She knew the others would be gone for hours, and likely would come back, if at all, completely drunk. _She's eating, 10 minutes, then taking a shower, 15 minutes. Likely will apply perfume and cream, another 5 minutes. I've got 30 minutes, 25 to be on the safe side._

She sat down in the chair by the Commander's bed. _Don't touch anything, but her… _She could hear Shepard muttering in her sleep. Something about legs, crippled… Jenkins.

"I'm here Shepard… Shhh. You're safe." She ran her hand along the solder's jawline.

Given Shepard's upgrades sedatives didn't quite have the punch they used to. Her eyes fluttered open. She felt a touch on her jaw, and pulled back but not quite as violently as when she first woke up after her implants were kick-started.

"Don't be scared Commander… It's me, Sam. We were close, quite close." She ran her fingers through Shepard's hair.

"Where's Liara?" The soldier snapped.

"She left you, went drinking. I'm the only one who stayed because we meant something to each other."

"She doesn't strike me as the type to 'go drinking'." Shepard bats the hand from her hair.

"She isn't here, love, I am. We've been through a lot. I understand your confusion. You've just woken up." _Think Sam, think. Oh God, yes. _She pulls out her necklace, a beautiful ring from her parents is attached marking her Alliance graduation day. She briefly flashes it to Shepard. "You gave me this."

Shepard face-palmed herself. _If I gave that to her why am so attracted to Liara? _"I think I need to be alone." _I'm barely in one piece, and already facing fucking drama._

"I'll stay with you until-"

"No, get the fuck out. I mean… I need time to process this, please just leave me."

"Liara is quite obsessed with you, you refused her before, please don't mention this to her. She could hurt us." _Just keep Liara away and give me a few days. _She turns and walks out the room.

"I don't fucking believe you." Shepard pulls the blanket over herself and eventually falls back asleep.

**A/N: **Reviews people, are what keep this story going. Traynor: Eaten by a Krogan or Thresher Maw when thrown out the airlock over Tuchanka? (After a good head-butt of course) :D

'Tarado' google translate = asshole? Correct me if I'm wrong.


	12. Temptation Waits

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Tayg and T.A. Blackwell, well can't say enough good things about you girls._

_I changed my mind again and kind of dislike Traynor. In game she will gladly cheat on Liara after having polite conversation, plus I just can't pass up a good story/soap opportunity._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

"_I don't fucking believe you." Shepard pulls the blanket over herself and eventually falls back asleep._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After being shown where the cafeteria and showers were she decided to eat. The food looked disgusting compared to what her bond-mate would make her.

"_Shepard, Goddess it's 5:00. Why are you up so early?" She says while trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes._

_Shepard only grins at her, eyes full of adoration. "Come on, get up, I made you breakfast. Shift change is only in 2 hours, so hurry up before someone gets up early and eats our breakfast." She extends a hand, which Liara takes then is pulled off the bed. "Shower after, get dressed, let's go."_

_Shepard tosses her the robe that had been absently discarded the previous night. "You don't… You can't expect me to go out in this?"_

_Shepard flashes her infamous lopsided grin and childishly snickers. "It's not like they don't know what we do up here, now come on."_

As she pours the "mush on to her plate she can't help think about an old human idiom she learned from Shepard. _Don't know what you've got 'till it's gone._

"_T'Soni, stop looking so nervous. No one will be up for another hour at least, promise." Shepard playfully teased. _

_What ever this was, it smelled fantastic. Liara visibly relaxed, sat down at the table and flashed her bond-mate an appreciative smile. "Smells wonderful."_

_Shepard took her cue and headed back to the counter to serve them both. She had bought supplies on her last trip to the Citadel as she planned on making meal time a regular occurrence. She loaded up 2 plates and headed back to their table._

"_Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, baked beans with Thessian fruit and toast. Lots of protein for my biotic beauty. Now eat up so we can take that shower."_

_As she dug her fork into the eggs she lifted an eye brow and very seductively said: " We, and shower… sounds like you intend on joining me, Commander."_

_Shepard looks up from her plate and winks back at her broker before answering. "Well, see I just got up, got dressed and made us breakfast. I haven't showered yet but thought we could conserve water by showering together, Doctor. For the crew's benefit."_

"_Indeed you have come to a wise conclusion, Commander. Water conservation in the midst of a war is a sound, scientific decision." She purred. _

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Traynor stood outside Shepard's room, nervously ringing her hands. _Play the innocent scientist… Go in there and win her… But she's sleeping… You have 15 minutes left before that wretched Asari comes back… She needs her sleep… You'll miss your chance. _With that she decides to enter the room and take a seat by Shepard's bed. _14 minutes._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

She stared blankly down at the slop in front of her. _Everything reminds me of Shepard._ She lifted the fork to her mouth and immediately spit it out. _Stop being such a damned snob. _She brought another fork full of food to her nose and decided this was Varren meat, or worse... Dead Vorcha. She then unceremoniously dropped the fork and left the dining area.

She headed to the showers, opened the door and much to her displeasure saw it was a public shower. Asari were generally open about their sexuality and flaunted their bodies, except she wasn't a typical Asari. Liara recalled a small lavatory in Shepard's room so headed back there.

As Liara swings the door to Shepard's room open she sees an unexpected visitor. _Traynor. _She stalks the room, never taking an eye off the specialist. _She is going to give me a stammered response… I'm a very good information broker, and I can tell when someone will lie to me even as they are thinking about it._

_Bloody hell… Oh Jesus._

"Come with me. Now. Let's not wake the Commander." She extends a hand to help her up.

_Oh God if that isn't a cobra about to strike. _"I don't ne-ed assistance Doctor…uh Doctor T'Soni, thank you," as she gets up from her chair.

Suddenly Traynor is enveloped by a stasis field and floated out the room. Once the doors are breached she is unceremoniously dropped on the floor.

"I don't even want to know what you were doing in _my _bond-mate's room." She dropped down on a knee to face her rival. "Shepard made her choice 3 years ago. You have no idea what we have done for each other since then."

"I know that you ignored her to 'broker' your data feeds." She defiantly said.

Liara couldn't believe the audacity of this little _shit. _

_She picks Traynor up by the neck and heads for the airlock._

"_Do it baby, we'll be rid of that pest once and for all. As she dies she maybe then she'll realize who I truly love, and will always love." Shepard flatly says._

_Liara places her in a stasis field and punches the lock down code. "I love you more than life, Shepard." _

_They step through the doors hand in hand and watch as the "contents" of the airlock are bolted out._

_Satisfied by their taking out of the trash, they kiss and head back to their Loft._

Liara's fantasy ends all too soon...

"Get out of here, now, before I feed you to Wrex. _My _Bond-mate's status could let me get away with it too. As you humans would say, fuck off." As Traynor scurried away Liara could swear she heard something about this not being over, and the Alliance brass… gibberish.

Now that _she _was taken care of, Liara deemed it safe to take a shower. Afterwards, it was time to work on Shepard's memory, and if the Goddess allowed it, eventually all those little blue children.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

15 minutes later Liara stepped out of the shower feeling completely refreshed. She was dressed in a simple white hospital gown but could care less. She took a seat by Shepard's bed and laid a hand on her chest. She felt her bond-mate stir.

"Li…a…"

Shepard was calling out for her and she was completely unsure how to react. She knew she had to let 'nature' play its course, but she was so sick of it, so sick of everything keeping them apart. She wanted to take her away to somewhere safe, and remote, like their lost ship.

"Yes, I'm here." She fought the urge to throw herself on top of her broken bond-mate.

Shepard stretched, and opened her eyes then turned her gaze to Liara. "I can't remember fuck all, Sam was in here telling me, well, what I think is total shit. I don't know why, but I trust you."

Liara saw this as a cue to initiate further touch. She took Shepard's hand in the hand not caressing her torso. "We shared a life amongst chaos, and a promise. You mean everything to me, you always will." Liara knew a meld could help her bond-mate's recovery. She hoped Shepard instinctively loved and trusted her enough to trust her with something so intimate.

"Show me."

**A/N: **Reviews people, are what keep this story going. My story notes were long enough to split this into 2 chapters and still not done. So there you go.


	13. Felt

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Tayg and T.A. Blackwell, well can't say enough good things about you girls._

_The last chapter was ridiculous I know but really wanted a chance to space Traynor. Thanks for putting up with me… This chapter has plenty of fluff :D_

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

"_Show me."_

Liara steadied herself taking the Commander's hands in hers. "Relax Shepard, find your inner-".

"Wait… " She sees the stunned look on the Asari's face and gently reassures her. "I just want to know a little more about me first. Just tell me in your own words, who I am." She runs her thumbs softly over Liara's knuckles and nods towards her.

"Well, you're an Alliance Commander, Captain of the Normandy, and the first Human Spectre."

A cocky smirks forms on Shepard's face. "I knew about everything except the Spectre bit. Please tell me I threw Udina out an airlock," She jokingly says.

"No, but you did shoot him dead."

"What? You're kidding me…" Upon seeing Liara's stiff composure: "Fuck you're serious huh? Well at least tell me shot him between his beady little eyes…"

Liara sighs. "No you shot him in the chest."

"Was it a one shot? Did he bleed out? This sounds like one of the best moments of my life and I can't remember shit…" Shepard sees the annoyed look on Liara's face. "Uhhh aside from meeting you, I'm sure… So how 'bout that meld?" _Very fucking smooth. You insult her and invite her to play with your head._

"Relax, Shepard. Find-"

"One last question." She could almost see the steam from the Asari's ears. "Sam, Traynor, said we were together. Showed me a ring and said I gave it to her. I don't believe her, who is she?"

"A vulture who has been trying to get you into her bed since day 1." Liara shocked herself at how venomous that sounded. "I-I mean, she's infatuated with you, we have been at odds since boarding the Normandy."

Shepard paused as she observed the Asari. _She's uncomfortable. When I mentioned Sam she clutched her wrist… there's more, I know and feel it._ "Ok, show me us, show me our life."

A smile graced Liara's face. She took a deep breath and gripped the Commander's hands even tighter. "Find you inner peace, your place of solitude and embracy eternity!"

_She'd been trapped for days. Her saving grace from the Geth and Krogan was a Prothean security device, which she may now die in. 'Of all the Goddess damned luck.' _

_Gunfire and shouting fill the chasm. 'Humans? What are they doing here?' She looks around and sees a trio of the newcomers step towards her. The leader takes off her helmet and stares. "Help me, please, I'm trapped!"_

_They return and she is free. The leader, Shepard helps her up as she smirks. "You ok?" Her stare is unnerving._

"_Yes, I-I'm… I'll be fine." How can this human be so intimidating, and completely emotionally dismember her with a simple glance? _

Shepard breaks the meld looking quite amused. "If the tables were turned I don't think I'd have shown you how I got stuck in a well, bubble." She grins and laughs.

"I see you find this as funny as you did then. Looking back now I realize every time you saw me for the following week you did a very poor job of containing your laughter…"

Shepard tilted her head back and laughed again. Her bond-mate was thrilled to see such joy for the first time in months from Shepard, even is she was "the butt of the joke" as human idioms would say. She couldn't help giggling herself as hind-sight did make it an amusing situation.

"What happened next?" Shepard seemed to be eager to take in the memories of their shared life.

"Well you started spending more time with me in the storage room. The crew was beginning to wonder if you were chronically ill as you were always in the med bay, as that storage room was behind it." Liara blushed and gave the Commander her best doe-eyed innocent stare.

"Jesus fuck… That look alone could keep me here for another month. Didn't the Doc say I had heart trauma?" She was completely undone. _The joy of forgetting everything is that I get to fall in love all over again._

Liara rolled her eyes. "That's exactly the Shepard charm I fell in lo-… I mean that drew me to you in the first place." She glanced around nervously at anything but Shepard's eyes.

"I'd like to see more." Shepard stares into those ocean blues without blinking.

"Are you sure you aren't too tired? We can continue this ano-"

"I'm not tired and would like to see more." Shepard almost pleads. "You're beautiful. I can't blame myself for being attracted to you. You're the first person I saw when I woke up here. Not to sound like a complete cheese-ball, but I thought I was dead." She reaches up and cups the Asari's face.

"Dead, why?"

"Because of you… never mind… Can you show me more?"

"Of course." She takes Shepard's hand off her face and kisses her wrist, palm then knuckles. Her heart swells as she does so but knows she must let things run it's course.

"Embrace eternity!"

_They have been locked out of the Normandy's systems. Shepard has ordered everyone off the crew deck. She wants to be left alone. The elevator dings and she hears someone step off. 'Who the fuck would dare defy me?' She prepares her most menacing face and glares up at the intruder. 'Fuck.'_

_Liara slides down the lockers and sits by Shepard, intertwining their fingers. "So I hear you've given up…"_

_Shocked and almost speechless Shepard answers: "No give up. I gonna… ugh… I mean… No, gonna fight this."_

_Liara chuckles at the sight of the usually very stoic Commander stammering her way through a simple sentence. That's when she knew Shepard meant what she said; there was something between them. She released the soldier's hand and stood up. She looked down at the scowling Commander and extended her hand… Much to her relief it was taken and she heaved upwards._

'_Fucking shit, hold you're footing.' As she stumbled forward she caught her balance, then looked up. They were inches apart. Neither moved, both of their hearts were about to burst. She leaned in, wanting to capture those luscious purple lips. They made contact, the soft silky texture made her instantly crave more. She deepened the kiss as she pulled the scientist closer to her. Tongues met one another, finally…_

"_Incoming message from Captain Anderson."_

_Shepard abruptly ended their kiss and groaned. "Joker, you fucking spying on us?" Never had she wanted to space someone as much as she did now. _

"_No Commander, just passing along a message."_

"_Well I guess I can't expect anything other than rude interruptions from a guy named Joker." She flashed her ever charming, lop-sided grin._

Liara was starting to tire, and as enthusiastic as Shepard was judging from the red vessels in her eyes the Asari deemed it was time to stop.

"You should get some rest Shepard, as will I. The crew will likely be back in a few hours and will want to see you." She flashed a brief smile to her bond-mate.

"Stay with me."

Liara briefly hesitated and pulled a lounge chair from the other side of the room to Shepard's bed.

"No I mean here, with me." Shepard scooted over and tapped the empty spot behind her.

_Goddess you never could refuse her anything. _She stripped off her gown and was reduced to her underwear, much to Shepard's delight, then slowly crawled into bed. _Do I dare? Yes. _She kissed the back of Shepard's neck lightly and wrapped herself around her soldier.

5 minutes later they were both asleep, together, as it should be.

**A/N: **Reviews people, are what keep this story going. Not finished with Traynor. Don't like it, don't read it.


	14. Sic

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Tayg and T.A. Blackwell, well can't say enough good things about you girls._

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

Sorry all, this story isn't dead… been sick as fuck. Got a bit better than got slammed again by my house guest, whom I passed it to, then so graciously passed it back to me. On going affair, vicious circle of germs and we all know summer colds are the worse.

My outlines are done, and I'm officially promising to get a real chapter up this weekend even if it floors me.

Thanks everyone for the reviews, favs and adds. I try to get back to everyone, and will hopefully catch up with the mess I've left soon.

MiizB xox.


	15. Bright Tonight

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Sorry for the ridiculously long wait for an update. My mind was screaming to write, but sick body had me stuck in bed sipping tea and feeling sorry for myself… Just ask Tayg :D_

_Bioware owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

_5 minutes later they were both asleep, together, as it should be._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Her omni-tool flashes and buzzes much to her annoyance. She checks it quickly and sees the sender is the Alliance's Medical Division. _Finally, they got off their collective asses. _She reads the rest of the message: AMD has finally completed the construction of Commander Shepard's new legs as per her specifications.

_Shepard. _She closes her omni-tool, peels off her clothes and steps into a much needed hot shower. As the jets of water soak her long, black hair and back she begins to relax. _Shepard. You had a singular purpose, and yet you were… are so much more._

"_Is it just me, or are you just naturally this fucking bitchy?" Shepard says with a clear scowl across her face._

"_We can either talk about the mission, or do it. I prefer to complete the task on hand. God forbid another colony gets taken because the great Commander Shepard wants to chit-chat." She crosses her arms over her chest and fixes a glare on the newly resurrected commander._

"_Cerberus isn't as evil as you think, Commander. We only want to advance and preserve human interests within the galactic community."_

"_So turning humans into husks, enslaving rachni and thorian creepers was all in the name of advancing humanity? Lawson, you're smarter and better than this and them. What about Jack and the other biotic kids? You've said it yourself, Cerberus cells operate secretly. You have no idea what they've done." Shepard spits, her eyes piercing Miranda's essence, not even faltering for a second. Never has Miranda questioned her loyalty to Cerberus before now._

"_I… Thank you for helping me with my sister. I never thought you would. The Illusive Man would have not approved of this distraction… I… thank you, Shepard. She's now safe again, I could have never done it without your help."_

_The Collector base, what an abomination. The Illusive Man wants it intact. He'd kill humanity's hero for it too, after everything she has done. She is a tool with a singular purpose, it wasn't to rescue colonists, it was to secure Reaper tech for Cerberus._

"_Stop her Lawson, I gave you a god-damned order!" He fumed over the holo-com._

"_I know. And I won't follow it, or anything else you have to say. Consider this my resignation." Never had she felt so liberated as when she handed Shepard the bomb._

Miranda wasn't sure how much time had passed as she ran her hands over her soapy body again. Thinking of Cerberus and her old life made her feel dirty. For someone built for perfection, why could she not see the flaws in the organization she immersed herself in? Why did she follow them so blindly? Why did she run for so long from her father? Why had she needed others to keep Ori safe? _Shepard. _Yes, everything changed when she met _Shepard. _After more than 30 years she finally became her true self, and who she was really meant to be.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Liara is comfortably wrapped around her bond-mate, a smile on her lips even in slumber. She feels Shepard fidgeting and moving about as she slowly wakes up. Smiling, she looks to her lover and is instantly distressed by the quiet mumbling and worry plastered over Shepard's face. Shepard has not been "re-awakened" long and she starts to worry that maybe her mind is bombarding her with memories she isn't yet aware she has.

"Shepard, please wake up… you're dreaming." She kisses her shoulder softly, making her way up to her neck. No response. Liara becomes more frantic and begins to shake her bond-mate. "Shepard! Goddess, please wake up, I love you, please!"

Shepard suddenly breaks into a light coat of sweat as her muscles tighten. Her muttering is still incomprehensible, as her eyes, while still closed, rapidly move left to right as though scoping out the enemy.

"Shepard, wake up!" Glancing around the room she realizes they are still alone. Shepard then starts convulsing, shouting and foaming at the mouth. Liara darts out of the bed and slams the emergency button requesting immediate assistance. She paces for a few seconds, what to her feels like a goddess-damned eternity. She's panicked and initiates the one thing she knows can sooth her lover. _Goddess, forgive me, Shepard. But I don't know how else to help you._

"Embrace eternity!"

_As she pushes her way through Shepard's mind she comes upon an eerie forest. The grass is dry, the sky is grey and the trees are dead. Out of no where ghostly black forms appear and whisper incoherently. The few words she can understand are 'show me', 'it had to be me', 'I must go to them', and a repeated 'Shepard'._

_She screams out for her lover. "Shepard!" Only she cannot hear herself. A cold passes through her sending shivers up her spine. "SHEPARD!" Silence. Realizing this is an exercise in futility she decides to look for her bond-mate and takes a step forward. Her body feels like it is cemented down, yet it feels like it is in zero gravity._

_She is over-whelmed as she looks around. She sees her lover materialize... She spots Shepard scanning around for something… 'Goddess she is looking at me!' Liara lifts her arms in an attempt to catch Shepard's attention, but they feel like they have 1 ton weights on them. Her lover stares right though her and also in a much reduced speed, "runs" off._

_By the time Liara closes in on Shepard she feels as if she has run a marathon, yet it has been only about 50 meters, and her lover still cannot hear her. Liara wonders if this is because Shepard didn't invite her into a meld, but she reflects back to the time where she was aroused and through a meld coaxed her bond-mate to wake up and make love to her… Despite the fact Shepard was riding a Hanar gliding over a rainbow towards a parade of Ewoks all waving the latest S3K strap on. 'Goddess, no wonder she woke up'._

_Liara quickly dismisses the childish memory and concentrates on the task at hand. Reaching her bond-mate feels like it has taken an eternity. She sees Shepard leaning into a blur, as if to help someone up. The blur runs off, unhindered by the weight she, and now apparently Shepard carry._

_A sudden flash of light hits her eyes. As she focuses after being temporarily blinded she sees world burning. She can hear screams, orders been shouted to fall back, regroup. She blinks and is back in this dreaded forest._

_She runs towards Shepard, who is following the blur. The horn of a Reaper blasts and the forest is bathed in a red hue._

"_Their sacrifices will be recorded in the coming empire". Another Reaper horn. Bodies burn. The smell of dead flesh hits her nose as she pales. A city falls._

_She is back in the forest and approaches the blur. She can make out a color. Blue. The voices still whisper, yet are so loud they sound like they are shouting. Shepard reaches for the blur. Liara moves closer, the blue blur revealing itself to be a small Asari child. Fear overwhelms her, she reaches out for Shepard and the child but is frozen. The dreadful horn sounds again, this time accompanied by the deadly laser steadily heading their way. The red beam hits her and she is catapulted…_

Her back bones ached. She was cold and sore. She wanted to open her eyes, but they were not last time she felt this way was after having been warped by a Banshee. Sudden terror hit her and she primed her biotics. _Goddess, no…. Those used to be Asari!_

"…date her now! I've got Shepard! Restrain T'Soni!" Medical alarms sounded though the room. Although she couldn't see what was happening she felt a fury of panicked emotions fill the room.

"Shepard!" Liara felt a prick on her neck as warm arms lifted off the ground. Her fight to stay awake lasted all of 5 seconds before darkness found her.

**A/N: **Again sorry for the long delay. I hope to have another up this weekend if I'm not feeling like total shit. Gonna lay off Traynor too. Think she learned her lesson. Reviews and thoughts are always welcomed. Also, I know I have a lot of reading to catch up on. :D


	16. Not My Idea

_**A/N** Inspired by Evanescence "Bring me to Life", Salser's amazing story "Forever as One" and my own loss… Title inspired by Garbage's verse from "My Lover's Box."_

_Thanks to everyone who added, reviewed and fav'd. You make this worth continuing. More reviews = more chapters._

_Nov. 27th, Retake Omega DLC release date oh yeah! Sad note, no Shep in Me4. Hope Bio makes up for the travesty and total failure they like to call "the end" in this one. Bio offered me a job, cuz I fit in their binder. Will see what they want and keep you posted._

_To all those who are on my fav's, just getting around to reading will be leaving my comments as usual… Ace, Theo, Tayg, Spirit, DD… just to name a few :P_

_Bioware (unfortunately) owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

"_Shepard!" Liara felt a prick on her neck as warm arms lifted off the ground. Her fight to stay awake lasted all of 5 seconds before darkness found her._

The med bay was a fury. The medical staff and machines (if at all possible) were in a frenzied state of panic, as was Shepard's flailing body.

"Lawson! What the hell is happening?" Chakwas yelled.

She didn't like not having answers, nor did she like looking like she didn't have answers. _Bloody hell. Show me something. Anything. Please!_

It seemed as though the gods were in her favor, because not a minute too soon everything was instantly quiet. She wiped the sheen of sweat forming of her brow, scanned over her omni-tool's readings and quickly came to a conclusion… Yes, it was the most logical of conclusions. Many sets of eyes looked to her for an answer, any answer. And by god did she hate it.

Clearing her throat, Miranda spoke. "It seems as though Shepard's nanites and consequential implants performed a, to put in layman's terms, a hard restart of all systems."

"How, and why?" An unidentified voice in the room asked.

"Simple really." She smirked as her confidence built. Yes, now it all made sense.

"When Cerberus… when I rebuilt Shepard I had to graft cybernetic implants and nano-regenerative chips into her physical body, to allow the organic Shepard to restore her natural tissue, and heal." She looked around the room, all eyes were peeled on her. Never had she felt so vulnerable, yet so important.

"Her physical injuries, while severe, are no longer life-threatening. However, her synthetic implants are completely different avenue of care in themselves. While they work in harmony, we have been concentrating on her physical injuries since finding her."

An air of confusion filled the room as Chakwas stepped forward, gritting her teeth. "And this means what… As the bulk of us were not privy to the Illusive Man's cybernetic, indoctrination, dragon tooth, monster-creating technology! I've seen the bodies, a God-damned abomination…"

Cleary the rest of the medical staff was behind Chakwas, their postures and body language spoke louder than words. _It's not their fault, what we... what I did was… Forgive me._

"If I may summarize, as we're wasting time… I can only surmise that Shepard's organic body has out-healed her synthetic body. The Geth's intervention saved her life yes, but as the two work as one, her cybernetics now have some catching up to do… so to speak. Hence, her memory loss."

"I still think this was an absolution abomination to everything we have ever believed…" Chakwas says while scanning over Shepard's sleeping body.

"Well believe it or not, without this 'abomination' a much worse travesty would have incurred. We'd all be dead. She'll be fine. You will all be fine. Can you live with that?" _And can I?_

Silence.

"I thought so. Call me if there is any change in Shepard's situation, I'm going to take a bloody shower." Miranda stormed out of the room, leaving stunned doctors in her wake.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_2 hours later:_

A pair of nervous green jackets stood watch outside Shepard's room. 18, served on Hackett's ship. Yes, they had seen space battles, but had never been posted to ground combat. They likely had their lives because of that.

"What if… what if t-the Reapers aren't really d-dead? Oh man, they're gonna be pissed at _her." _Subban stammered.

"Relax fuckwad, they're dead. I'm due for a break, want me to get you a diaper, Nancy?" Price mockingly answered.

"Fucking stop calling me Nancy man. Piece of…"

A rumbling and roars were heard coming towards them. Getting louder be the second…

"Oh fuck! I told you! Shit!" Subban closed his eyes and fired towards the stampeding sound.

"Hahahhahaha… pyjaks… good for nothing… nice gun. Got real bullets in them?" Wrex bellows as he pulls out a bullet fragment from his leg.

He steps towards the trembling green jackets. Followed by the rest of clan Urdnot… Werloc… Tynac… Ghera… Rekno… Smiling, Wrex takes another step forward, nose to nose with one of the soldiers.

_Sniff, sniff... Huh… _Wrex turns to the other soldier. _Sniff… Grrrr…._

"I'll let you live on the condition that you both go change your pants… Kalros strike me down, there is nothing as foul as the smell of pyjak shit. Get outta here!" Wrex grows as he pounds his chest, earning an _oorahhhhh _from the rest of his company.

From inside the make-shift med-bay Chakwas heard the commotion. "Looks like the Krogan are here, suppose I should let Wrex in. Bastard will never die." She smiles to herself.

She drew the curtain back and was face to face with the burly Krogan. "Wrex, pleasure to see you. Not so keen on smelling you, however... I would ask your angry horde to wait outside as Shepard is somewhat fragile these days."

"Fragile my ass, get out of my way puny human…" He swung the curtain closed and leaned in to Chakwas, whispering, as subtly as a 700 pound Krogan could. "Thanks Doc, that was just Krogan-"

"Hot air I know. Get on with it, you have 10 minutes. Mordin left me his scalpel…I'll give you some privacy. Remember… chop chop." A sly smile graced the elder doctor's face as she made her way out of the med-bay and into the crowd of Krogans. "Oh for the love of... Who actually knows what a bath is?" Grunting. More grunting. This was going to be a very long 10 minutes.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

He'd heard she had been awake. Seeing her condition he wondered if that was the Alliance's version of Krogan hot air. She had done everything for him, and he knew it. From the beginning, training him, preparing him to be the leader he was born to be.

"_I never leave a job unfinished. Fist is mine, as I was paid to do." 'She actually let me blow him away, this human pyjak isn't bad.'_

"_Why the fuck do you care about the Krogan's future?" Wrex paced back and forth, angry, ready to charge this insignificant human. Her response, calm and collected, was enough to make his blood boil._

"_Because the Krogan people deserve more. And are worth more than selling yourselves out as bounty hunters and mercenaries. A united Krogan would be an unstoppable Krogan. But for now, you have pledged an oath to me and I do believe we have yet to seal our arrangement."_

_What does this insolent human know of Krogan tradti-_

_Crackkkk! _

_She is bleeding like a stuck vorcha, but had the nerve, will and strength to knock a Krogan Battle Master off his feet. From this day forth, Wrex knew she was right. He had to unite his people. Invigorate them, educate them, and most importantly, have them see themselves as the powerful force they were destined to be. Yes from this day forth, this human would be his battle sister, Urdnot Shepard, Warlord and Chief in name. He would make sure of it._

"Crazy human… You'd better live." He looked around the room, and his privacy was reassured.

"You tell anyone I told you this and I'll kill you myself. You've been a champion to the Krogan. From day 1. I'll never forget what you've done for us. Battle songs will be written about you, I swear it. You've earned a warrior's death, but I'd like to see you around to hear the songs my people will sing about you."

He reached over and placed a hand on her forehead. _Wake up sister._

"Your 10 minutes is over." Chakwas says while waving Mordin's scalpel to discourage any "funny" ideas.

Without any fuss the clan chief leaves. Chakwas then returns to her readings. The Commander is stable, vitals normal, in deep sleep, cellular regeneration is…

"No, this can't be right." She walks over to the comm systems and pages Dr. Miranda Lawson. Moments later the ex-Cerberus operative arrives.

"Take a look at these regenerative readings. How is that even possible?"

_Because I do damn fine work, but this was… unexpected… _

"Should she survive, which I'm convince she will, her nanites and implants have somehow been upgraded. You readings, Doctor, indicate she will live longer than we initially thought." _A lot longer. I was built on the beta version of this tech, could I also be?_

"We gave her a 400 year lifespan, Miranda. Longer than any human will ever live. Do you think this had something to do with the Crucible's blast?"

"I can only hypothesize, but my best guess is yes. By my calculations she will live close to 1000 years naturally." _Liara will surely be pleased by this, only best make sure she's out of the woods first._

**A/N: **Again sorry for the long delay. Been a shit storm of shit, but finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Oh, and after this, think crack fics are my new found calling as I had such a good time writing Toy Story (yes, insert shameless self-promo).


	17. Breaking up the Girl

_**A/N**__ Looked out the window this morning, a pig flew by, so yeah, time for an update. _

_I thought about dropping my ME stories all together. Why? Because after having invested so much time into the games, after having loved the characters for 5+ years, to get an eenie-meenie-moe ending just felt cheap. And with each DLC, I kept hoping the betrayal so many fans felt would be addressed. The Citadel DLC was an obvious lip service, but still not what most fans wanted, although enjoyable._

_But that's why we have FF. If anyone won that crazy US powerball, buy Bioware and fire Hudson. There are a number of talented writers here, myself excluded, who could easily give us a quality ME4 game._

_Let's make our own universe, and logical endings._

_Bioware (unfortunately) owns all, I just make them cry. _

**Piece by Piece**

"_I can only hypothesize, but my best guess is yes. By my calculations she will live close to 1000 years naturally." This will surely please Liara; only best make sure she's out of the woods first._

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

_3 weeks later…_

"Has there been any change?"

"Liara." Chakwas gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "not since last you checked an hour ago. Although, her brainwaves and REM seem to be more active." Before the Asari could object she countered; "but she could just be dreaming."

Chakwas looked over to her and felt a stab in her heart. _Young love, so uncertain and painful. _"There is something you should know."

Liara turned around and glared at the old doctor. Pain. That was the only emotion she felt. She didn't know if she could handle more. Holding her tongue, she answered with one word. "Yes?"

"If… no when she wakes up, my scans have detected a rather fortunate anomaly. She could have the lifespan of an Asari. Or close to. My readings cannot be 100% accurate, but of this, I'm fairly certain."

"…S-she…?"

"Sweetheart, she once told me she wanted marriage, old age and a lot of little blue children. Well now it seems, you willing of course, she could have a small army of them." Chakwas chuckled at the thought of Shepard running a small platoon of Asari toddlers through a backyard, makeshift N7 training course. Their reward: Lollipops. To that she laughed out loud.

"Senistive souls with piercing eyes indeed."

Liara knew Chakwas was hurting as well. Missing Shepard. She scolded her self yet again for diminishing another being's pain. She reasoned that just because it wasn't the same, it didn't mean it hurt less.

Liara had a thousand questions, a thousand theories but did not want to tax the doctor further. She stood in silence for a few moments and chose her questions carefully.

"She is not in any physical danger?"

"No."

"She will possible live to be as old as I?"

Yes.

"Has she suffered any brain-damage other than her amnesia?

"Although I can not be 100% certain, I'll say no, eventually she will regain her memory."

Her heart began to race as she pondered the final, and real question she wanted to ask. What happened to her bond-mate on the Citadel? Where was she? Could she wake her? Could a meld help? She had shared a shallow meld at Shepard's request earlier but had seen nothing but walls.

Anderson had somehow survived, and his report had not offered much insight into what happened. _"We ran for the conduit. Harbinger's beam hit us. I'm in a hospital room."_

Liara steadied herself, took a deep breath and looked Chakwas straight in the eyes. Almost as if reading her mind Chakwas answered; "yes."

Liara, confused, asked "what?"

"You want to initiate a meld. I'll bet my UK card it'll be a deep one or you wouldn't be looking at me like that. Let me get some wet towels and hook you up to my monitor. Any sighs of distress from either of you and I'll end this… and before you ask, a bucket of ice water, no matter the species will grab anyone's attention, including yours."

"I.. ah… th-thank…"

"No need to thank me my dear girl because I know despite the shortages, the shadow broker can still get her hands on Serrice Ice Brandy, am I right?"

As they both enjoyed the lightened moment Liara promised a crate would be delivered tomorrow. As the laughter died, the mood sobered. They both knew what was coming next. Ugliness. Pain. Death. But beneath all that lay hope. Silent words were spoken, nods exchanged. It was now or never.

Liara closed her eyes and focused on slowing her breathing and heart rate. Entering Shepard's mind in a panicked or excited state would likely be unproductive, and damaging. Chakwas was monitoring her vitals, she looked over and got the go… she was calm and centered.

"Embrace eternity."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

'_Gottta keep fucking running. Oh god, Liara… She's safe… I saw them leave… FUCK! Shit, that was close… Christ, oh god, I'm gonna die here. Liara, I love you. God, I love you. There are so many… FUCK!'_

"_Anderson!" _

Liara was over-whelmed. A memory meld was much like watching a vid. She saw everything that happened after she was forced to evac, and was powerless to help her struggling bond-mate as she took on a passive "voyeur" role. She also felt every one of Shepard's emotions, fear, hopelessness and physical pain. She wanted to run, but was rooted to the ground. She yelled to Shepard, but her voice was muted. She could not tell if the panic she felt was hers or Shepard's.

"_Anderson, you have to get up!" Shaking him, she realized me probably was unconscious or dead. 'Shit shit…' She was 20 meters from the beam. "I'm sorry, sir." And she ran. _

Just then Liara's feet started moving as well. The scene was one of absolute horror. Dead Alliance soldiers piled up to the left and right. Dead trees. Oily shadows. A downed helicopter… Whispers. _'Get to Shepard, I must pull her out.'_

The next thing she saw was a white flash of light and pain as Harbinger's beam reached them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"The council chambers." '_Thank the Goddess, she's almost there.' _She was surprised by how pristine everything looked… Just then the walls and ground shifted as Shepard appeared. Everything closed up, so constricted. The smell. The bodies. Looking around this hallway of horrors Liara noticed… she noticed… _'Oh Goddess… these soldiers are all. Kaidan.'_

Liara continued to watch Shepard struggle forward. Not being able to do a thing to help. "This has already happened… it can't get any worse…" _'Could it?' _Panic rose in her chest as she watched Shepard calling for Anderson, and heard him respond. _'That isn't possible?'_

_Shepard walked passed the bodies into a clearing. Ledges, lightning. Still talking with Anderson. 'Still moving, I see that clearing.'_

Everything suddenly made sense. The Shadow Broker's ship. The Collector base. All the pieces fit. Alenko's body 1000 times over. "Noooo!" Was this why her bond-mate wasn't waking up? Was this the cause of her coma? "Sheeeepardd!"

Nothing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in the hospital room Chakwas pondered ending the session as Liara and Shepard's vitals were spiking close to an unacceptable level. As she reached for Liara, she decided to give the Asari one more minute.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The council chambers faded in out with a room she had never seen on the Citadel. It was a circular room with 1 pathway leading to it. The changes were giving her a headache, as they shifted every 3 seconds.

"_I've seen what they've done to you." Shepard snarled._

As the room kept shifting, now at a slower pace, she could see Anderson and the… Illusive Man in the illusionary room. But the one constant was that Shepard had a gun held to her stomach.

This proved too much once again for Liara to watch as she yelled: "You're indoctrinated!" Much to her surprise the voice she projected was that of Anderson.

"_You're playing with things you can never fully understand… No one is ready for this sort of power. You can't control them!"_

Liara stood frozen as she watched her lover shoot herself. She felt Shepard's confusion, pain, and … promise?

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_You must choose."_

"_Choose?" Shepard did not want to spend her last breath laughing, she had a promise to keep… 'But seriously? These are my opinions?'_

_As she rationalized she weighed her options. Laughable options. 'Had anyone told me 4 years ago the Reaper war would end with 3 color-coded multiple choices, I would have shot them.' _

Liara, watching from a distance could do just that, watch. She could feel Shepard's emotions, and hear her internal monologue. It was a terrifying decision.

"_The ever evil Illusive Man wants me to pick control. Reapers win. The Star-brat Reaper wants me to pick synthesis, which is what evil Saren wanted. Reapers still win." Looking over to the Reaper child a wicked grin spread across her face._

"_I am not your agent, not your puppet. I'll take my chances, you're done." Shepard stood upright and began to fire at all 3…_

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Liara awoke, eyesight blurred.

"Liara! Dr.T'Soni!"

"I'm ok… Light-headed but… oh Goddess…" She grabbed Shepard's hand and began to sob.

"Li? L-Liara?" A hoarse voice whispered.

"Shepard? Do you know who I am? Where you are? Who you-"

"Yeah, you're the most beautiful sight I have ever laid eyes on… You were especially cute strung up in that Prothean bubble… oh, and do me a favor… first kiss me, then throw Traynor out an airlock will ya?"

"Yes… and Goddess yessss… a thousand times over." As Liara leaned down to capture Shepard's lips she knew there would be much healing involved. Likely in the form of "professionals", which Shepard would surely object to, thinking Johnny Walker would be her best confidant…

As the kiss ended, Liara blushed and playfully asked; "Now now Commander, are you sure you want to declare your memory fit because you now have almost an Asari lifetime to remember things like my birthday, our first kiss, first meld... and the birth dates of our daughters."

"What? Liara? Yeah you were born in 2077, but what? Are you… pregnant?"

Liara laughed at Shepard's complete state of confusion. Yes, she had her love back. "Not yet Commander, but how about we mark this day on the calendar?"

**A/N **Ok can I say finally? Sorry wanted to finish this, sorry if to some it felt rushed, but I just did not have anymore story left in me for this one. Oh writing angst just … well I cannot do it anymore. It's too depressing. Some sassy PMs from a few regarding this story didn't help either, but whatever, may return the favour.

One of my fav authors and I have something brewing… utterly ridiculous… just the way I like it. Stay tuned.


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